In the history of ancient trade, the land trade route, the Silk Road, and the Age of Discovery (15th century~16th century) are mentioned the most. Almost 2,000 years before the Age of Discovery, the Maritime Silk Road ? with China, the maritime powerhouse of thattime, at the center ? had been used vigorously since the 4th century B.C.E., but it had not been studied upon as much. It is quite interesting to know that there was an official route for trade that connected Korea, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
Through this ancient trade route, the East and West traded many goods. Not only were there the well-known goods of silks, jewels, and fabrics, but there was also ginseng, a medicinal root representative of Korea. This documentary in two parts studies the historical evidence of the once vigorous ancient sea trade, the Ginseng Road, and sheds new light on the highly effective Korean ginseng which has left its mark on that ancient road.
Part 2 Ginseng Trade War
In Part 2 "Ginseng Trade Wars," on the basis of the Opium War, we examine the position of Goryeo ginseng, starting from the near-modern times when the ginseng trade was vigorous in Europe, China, and North America, and leading up to the prospects of Goryeo ginseng today.
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