Ginseng Farming to Be Created Beside DMZ

A large agricultural complex for growing Korean ginseng is going to be created on a lot of land, which has been farrow for over 45 years, inside the Farming Restriction Line (FRL) that lies beside the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ). .
The Agricutural Technology Institute of Kyunggi Province (ATIKP) announced on April 8 that it decided to push ahead to resolve the difficulties of operating within the FRL so as to ensure the establishment of an agricultural complex for Korean ginseng on the uncultivated land. Ginseng is known to improve in quality if it is grown on land that has not been used for a while.
ATIKP also plans to designate uncultivated areas inside the FRL around Pajoo and Yeonchun, Kyunggi Province, where the soil is known to be perfect for ginseng, and successively launch ginseng farms by 2003.
To do so, ATIKP decided to begin clearing and cultivating these areas at the end of this year. It is negotiating with the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to solve various difficulties such as the elimination of numerous landmines that cover the area, the clearing of brush in the FRL, and the cultivation costs.
Jangsoo Seo:jsbee@joongang.co.kr