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What is Cheong Kwan Jang? The red ginseng business, with a hundred-year tradition, has been continued by Korean Ginseng Corporation and the Cheong-Kwan-Jang is the official brand for the six-year-old red ginseng manufactured by Korean Ginseng Corporation, a gorvenment subsdized company. The Tae-geuk mark shows that the Cheong-Kwan-Jang is recinized as a special product of Korea, the red ginseng's character is the future oriented symbol and the six stars design symbolizes the fact that the product is made of six-years old Korean ginseng roots. Origin and History of Cheong Kwan Jang Korean ginseng had been exported to Shanghai etc. in China from 1900 via an exclusive consignment distributor Mitsui(Samjeong Production Co., Ltd.) since monopolization of Korean red ginseng was started in 1899. As privately produced red ginseng and forged Korean ginseng were prevalent with activation of export in early 1940s of the end of Japanese imperialism, the Bureau of Monopoly of Joseon Chongdokbu (the Japanese Government-General in Joseon) used the mark of 'Cheong-Kwan-Jang' on the label of Korean ginseng cans which had been generally recognized as authentic government made red ginseng among Chinese ginseng traders to differentiate it from those non-government-made products. 
Since the Cheong-Kwan-Jang advertisements were put in a Hong Kong newspaper(Seongjo Daily Newspaper in 1956 and 1959, respectively) after South Korean Liberation according to existing documentary evidences, the Cheong-Kwan-Jang mark has been used in the advertisements of red ginseng products in worldwide nations. It had not been formally printed on the red ginseng packing, however, a red sticker including the South Korea's Cheong-Kwan-Jang Korean ginseng mark had been attached between 1963 and early 1970s with demand from importers in Hong Kong and Singapore. For red ginseng products, since the mark was used on the design for export to Japan from Mar. 1972, the same mark has been used on the design for domestic sale from 1995. Cheong-Kwan-Jang Korean ginseng had been a sole national monopoly product in Korea for a century from 1899 when monopolization of Korean red ginseng was started to Jul. 1, 1996 when the system was discontinued. The formal name of company has been changed for several times - Monopoly Bureau => Monopoly Corporation => Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation => Korea Ginseng Corporation - but the Corporation has used the Cheong-Kwan-Jang trademark as they took over the legal rights and obligations as exclusive Korean ginseng manufacturer and seller in actual. Efforts To Keep Cheong Kwan Jang Hong Kong is known as a paradise of forgeries and crowded with counterfeits and imitations of high-priced Cheong-Kwan-Jang Korean ginseng. In former days, forgeries had been made in Shenzhen and Shantou of the Chinese special economic zones and flown into Hong Kong, Taiwan and the US in addition to other Chinese markets. However, it is deemed that forged ginseng products are mostly being made in Hong Kong. Forged ginseng companies are distributing counterfeits by subtle deceptions into Hong Kong, China, Southeast Asia, the US and Canada and even putting advertisements in print media in the US. 95% at least of Korean ginseng products being distributed in China are estimated as counterfeits, and it is common that even sales agencies cannot distinguish between authentic products versus false ones. The Corporation has invited 3~5 forgery supervisors from the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department after 1995 in Oct. Besides, the Corporation has attached Telecheck Sticker with unique numbers to each product so that consumers can discriminate authenticity from forgery when they purchase Korean ginseng and has continued P.R. activities such as TV CF to make consumers aware of the contents. Buisness & Trade of Cheong Kwan Jang Korean ginseng business is a typical family occupation of people over 3~4 generations. Therefore Chinese medicine traders in the major markets of Southeast Asia such as Hong Kong and Taiwan where ginseng products are traded are full of conceit in handling Korean ginseng, such that they regard it as an honor, because Cheong-Kwan-Jang Korean ginseng is recognized as high-class brand. While new ginseng is preferred compared to older one in Korea, Chinese medicine traders of Southeast Asia including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore regard old Korean ginsengs that had been exported between 1960 and 1970s as the "symbol of tradition" and are just keeping and displaying them without selling, and they are traded at high prices under negotiation. As an actual example,One Chinese herb trader purchased Korean ginseng and then sold it after 5~10 years, when it was traded at a price 2 times at least higher than the original price. Episodes of Cheong Kwan Jang There is a famous episode that when China fired a missile toward the South China Sea in 1996 and Taiwan was under a tense situation with an economic crisis, general people were busily engaged in getting US dollars, while Chinese medicine traders packed 'Cheong-Kwan-Jang' Korean ginseng above all. It is even said that a lifetime desire of most of Chinese people is to take 'Korean ginseng', and when undutiful son's parents passed away, he regretted his deed and put Cheong-Kwan-Jang Korean ginseng in their parents' coffins. Chinese people have a deep belief in the miraculous efficacy of Korean ginseng as a marvelous medicine, such that they keep it as a family treasure irrespective of price and regard it as best gift. Since normalization of diplomatic relations with China in 1992, when our government conducted trade negotiations with China we obtained great results by presenting Korean ginseng as a gift.(Heaven grade 10ji(支) was presented to Jiang Ze Min when he visited Korea in Nov. 1995.)
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Cheong Kwan Jang 
