The cultivation of sweet pumpkins in Korea started in the 1990s and has since expanded so much that each year over 1000 tons of Korean sweet pumpkin are exported to the global market. There are three different types of pumpkins: Asian pumpkin (C. moschata), Western pumpkin (C. maxima), and marrow squash (C. pepo). The Western pumpkin or “Sweet pumpkin” is the kind of pumpkin that is most consumed around the world. It is also called “Chestnut pumpkin” because it tastes as sweet as a chestnut.
The main production areas of Korean sweet pumpkin are Hampyeong and Jindo in Jeollanam-do, Andong in Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Sacheon in Gyeongsangnam-do. Hampyeong in particular grows over 3000~4000 tons of the fruit annually. This helped the area earn its reputation as the biggest producer of pumpkins. Since 2006, Hampyeong has been cultivating sweet pumpkins using the eco-culture method in order to meet the demand of people interested in organic and eco-friendly foods. Hobac Sarang Farming Association (HSFA) is the largest distributor of sweet pumpkins in Korea. It
was also the first one to grow eco-friendly sweet pumpkins. Baek In-yeob, the president of HSFA, explains: “The harvest has slightly declined as we started environmentally-friendly farming. But, as compared to the previous years, we receive more import inquiries for our products from Japanese buyers. I’m confident HSFA’s sweet pumpkins can compete with any pumpkins in quality and food safety because when we raise them, we make it a rule to use minimal agricultural chemicals and meet international standards.”Link: Korea: Eco - friendly sweet pumpkin very popular in Japan
