Eight Outstanding Varieties Honored at International Seed Expo… Heat-Tolerant Chinese Cabbage ‘Cheongmyeong Gaeul’ Wins Presidential Award

On the morning of the 22nd, inside the indoor exhibition hall of the Seed Industry Promotion Center in Gimje, North Jeolla Province. At the National Seed Management Office booth, actual samples and processed products of the eight varieties that won the Korea Outstanding Variety Awards the previous day were on display. Behind the Chinese cabbage ‘Cheongmyeong Gaeul’ were waxy sorghum rice and traditional liquor made from sorghum ‘Cheongpung Chal,’ while the panel for licorice ‘Won-gam’ bore the phrase “Domestic cultivation of licorice, which even King Sejong failed to achieve.” The indoor booths and outdoor exhibition fields were crowded with visitors and overseas buyers seeking to see Korean varieties firsthand.

At the awards ceremony for the “2026 Korea Outstanding Variety Competition,” held during the “2026 International Seed Expo,” which opened on the 21st, the top Presidential Award went to the autumn Chinese cabbage ‘Cheongmyeong Gaeul’ from NH Nongwoo Bio Co., Ltd. The variety fills out stably even in high autumn temperatures and is strong against clubroot disease; it currently accounts for 29% of the domestic autumn Chinese cabbage seed market. Chae Won-gi, head of the Yeoju Breeding Research Center at NH Nongwoo Bio and the variety’s developer, said, “I am pleased that farmers can raise their incomes with a variety I created, and that our Chinese cabbage can contribute to the growth of the agricultural economy.”
 

29 varieties compete… Distribution experts and consumers take part in judging for the first time

Hosted by the National Seed Management Office, the competition marked its 22nd edition this year. Twenty-nine varieties were entered across six categories: food crops, vegetables, fruit trees, specialty crops, mushrooms, and floriculture. After document screening and expert evaluation, eight varieties were selected, including one Presidential Award, two Prime Minister’s Awards, and five Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Awards. This year, distribution experts and seed consumers participated in the judging for the first time. A “Next-Generation Breeder Award” was also newly established to discover young breeding talent. Evaluation criteria included productivity, ability to respond to climate change, resistance to diseases and pests, contribution to farm income, marketability, and export competitiveness.
 

Presidential Award – Chinese cabbage ‘Cheongmyeong Gaeul’ (NH Nongwoo Bio Co., Ltd.)… Sales of 3.89 billion won over three years

Registered for variety protection in 2020, Cheongmyeong Gaeul is broadly suitable for second-crop cultivation in highland areas and autumn cultivation nationwide. Breeding efficiency was improved by selecting superior lines through marker-assisted selection (MAS). Even after the harvest period passes, it does not easily soften in the field, allowing farmers to adjust harvest and shipment timing. Sales from 2023 to 2025 totaled 3.89 billion won.
 

Prime Minister’s Awards – Chrysanthemum ‘Baekgang’ (National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science) and pepper ‘19ITP4719’ (NH Nongwoo Bio Co., Ltd.)… 24.1% share of the large-flowered chrysanthemum market and $1.12 million in exports to Europe

The National Seed Management Office assessed ‘Baekgang,’ which received a Prime Minister’s Award, as a case that shifted the domestic large-flowered chrysanthemum market, previously dominated by Japanese varieties, to a Korean variety. Its share, based on transaction value in public wholesale markets, rose from 0.2% in 2019 to 24.1% in 2025. It is Korea’s first chrysanthemum variety with resistance to white rust, a major headache in chrysanthemum cultivation. Pesticide use has been reduced by 30%, disease-control labor by 50%, and costs by about 2.4 million won per 10 ares. Because it blooms even at the relatively low temperature of 18°C, it can reduce winter cultivation heating costs by about 20%. It can be produced year-round, has sturdy stems, and offers excellent vase life and storability, making it suitable for long-distance distribution and export. It is currently cultivated on 18 hectares nationwide, and its 2025 sales are 1.6 billion won.

The other Prime Minister’s Award went to the sweet pepper ‘19ITP4719’ in the export category. Entered under its line number, this pepper accounts for 20% of Spain’s major cultivation market. Its export value in 2025 was $1.12 million, the highest-ever European export performance for a single sweet pepper variety. It has stable growth and good fruit set, and is strong against cracking, a physiological disorder caused by calcium deficiency. Because it does not soften easily, it is advantageous for long-term packaging and long-distance transport. Its fruit shape is straight and uniform, and with a high sugar content of 9 Brix (°Bx), it is differentiated from ordinary blocky-type sweet peppers. It has combined disease resistance to Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), and powdery mildew, making it suitable for the eco-friendly cultivation demanded by the European market.
 

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Awards – Rice ‘Saecheongmu,’ sorghum ‘Cheongpung Chal,’ persimmon ‘Gampung,’ and licorice ‘Won-gam’

‘Saecheongmu’ from the Jeollanam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services ranked first nationwide in rice cultivation area for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025. As of 2025, it accounts for 67.3% of rice cultivation area in South Jeolla Province and 16.8% nationwide. It has a better eating quality and more savory aroma than the existing main varieties in South Jeolla, and won the Presidential Award at the 2023 National High-Quality Rice Production Selection Contest. It is strong against diseases, lodging, and pre-harvest sprouting, in which grains sprout on the panicle, and has a high ripening rate and temperature adaptability, making it cultivable anywhere in the country. It has been selected as public stockpiled rice in every city and county in South Jeolla. It has contributed to farm income through raw-grain supply contracts with major food and distribution companies such as CJ CheilJedang and GS Retail. Since 2020, 1,238 tons worth 2.915 billion won have been exported to 11 countries, including Japan and the United States.

The sorghum ‘Cheongpung Chal’ from the Chungcheongbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services accounts for 66% of Korea’s sorghum cultivation area. Its yield is more than 30% higher than the standard variety ‘Sodam Chal.’ It is tolerant of sterility caused by high temperatures and strong against lodging, diseases, and pests, making cultivation stable. Its plant height is 109 cm, enabling mechanical harvesting and reducing labor. In unhulled grain form, its quality is maintained for up to three years at room temperature, which is also advantageous for distribution and preservation. With a savory aroma and strong stickiness and sweetness, it is used as a raw material for various processed products.

The sweet persimmon ‘Gampung’ from the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science is easier to cultivate than the main variety ‘Fuyu.’ It has also improved marketability by reducing physiological disorders such as fruit-skin cracking. In major management tasks such as fruit thinning, annual work time is reduced by 38.9 hours compared with the control variety, cutting labor by about 32%. Its high parthenocarpy allows seedless sweet persimmons to be produced without planting pollinizers. Its average selling price is 11,366 won per kg, 2.7 times that of the control variety (4,166 won).

The same institute’s licorice ‘Won-gam’ is Korea’s first licorice variety, created by interspecific hybridization of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Licorice grows in dry desert regions, so Korea had until now depended mostly on imports. It is strong against leaf spot disease, does not lodge easily, and has excellent uniformity. By developing a propagation technology using underground stems, or rootstocks, instead of seeds, the cultivation period was shortened by 1.5 years and the propagation rate was increased 30-fold. Its content of marker compounds such as glycyrrhizin is also more than twice that of the existing G. uralensis. Within two years of being listed in the Korean Pharmacopoeia, it accounted for 57% of Korea’s licorice cultivation area. With the establishment of rootstock production complexes, it has replaced 95% of imported seed.
 

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award (Next-Generation Breeder Award) – Watermelon ‘Mammoth Honey’ (FarmHannong Co., Ltd.)… 70% of cultivation area in Haman

The newly created Next-Generation Breeder Award went to the watermelon ‘Mammoth Honey’ from FarmHannong Co., Ltd. Its fruit grows well even under low-temperature and low-light conditions, increasing fruit weight by more than 1 kg compared with existing varieties, and its fruit-shape stability in high-temperature periods is also excellent. Based on one greenhouse unit (500 plants), an additional 500 kg can be harvested. Because it has few malformed and cracked fruits, the marketable fruit rate exceeds 90%. Its vine vigor is strong and flesh texture is dense, resulting in less hollow-heart watermelon during high-temperature periods. The seeds weigh around 3.0 g per 100 seeds, smaller than the control variety (4.0–4.5 g), making it easier to eat. Molecular-marker breeding shortened the breeding period, and it accounts for 70% of the cultivation area in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province, a main winter watermelon production region.

Yang Min-ho, head of the Seed Business Division at the Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT), selected Chinese cabbage ‘Cheongmyeong Gaeul’ and sorghum ‘Cheongpung Chal’ as noteworthy varieties at this expo, saying, “Cheongmyeong Gaeul can be seen as a climate-change variety.” The National Seed Management Office plans to provide follow-up support, including exhibitions and promotion, export consultations, and sales-channel assistance, so the award-winning varieties can be stably supplied to domestic and overseas markets.
 

International Seed Expo marks 10th edition… Participating companies and institutions grow from 36 to 113

This year’s expo was held for three days from the 21st to the 23rd at the private breeding research complex and the Seed Industry Promotion Center in Baeksan-myeon, Gimje, Jeonbuk State. It was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Jeonbuk State, and Gimje City, and organized by KOAT. It was sponsored by the Rural Development Administration, the National Seed Management Office, the Korea Seed Association, and KOTRA. The slogan for this year’s 10th edition is “Seed Today, Shape Tomorrow.” The aim is to look back on the achievements of the past 10 years and present the next decade of K-seeds.

The number of participating companies, which stood at 36 at the first expo in 2017, grew this year to a record 113, including institutions and organizations. Over nine years, cumulative export contracts totaled 55.8 billion won, or about $44 million, and the cumulative number of overseas buyers visiting the expo reached 643. This year, 35 seed companies, 56 upstream and downstream companies such as agricultural materials firms, and 22 institutions and organizations showcased domestically bred varieties, breeding technologies, and advanced agricultural materials and machinery. The indoor exhibition hall featured a 10th-anniversary theme pavilion, company and institution booths, and a B2B export consultation venue for overseas buyers. The organizers’ export contract target is more than 8.3 billion won. That is more than 2.4 times the 3.4 billion won in contracts recorded in the first year.
 

Actual comparison of 461 varieties from 45 crops in 4-hectare exhibition fields

The core of the expo was its 4-hectare outdoor exhibition fields and plastic greenhouses. A total of 461 varieties from 45 crops bred by companies and government institutions were actually grown and displayed. This allowed buyers and farmers to compare growth conditions and quality characteristics directly in the field. Yang said, “Until now, there have been almost no channels to verify whether our seeds are competitive overseas,” adding, “Because overseas buyers can see the size, growth conditions, strengths, and weaknesses of crops in real time in the exhibition fields rather than in an indoor exhibition hall, they experience them directly on site before leaving.” Twelve plastic greenhouses featured peppers and paprika, sweet squash and eggplant, watermelon and Korean melon, melon and zucchini, cucumber, and leafy vegetables. In open fields, Chinese cabbage, radish, cabbage, floricultural crops, green onion, spinach, and kohlrabi were planted. Separate zones were also set up for institution-bred crops and genetic resources, medicinal crops such as goji berry, and landscape crops such as zinnia, sorghum, sunflower, and cosmos. The sweet potato field in Exhibition Field 3 was operated as a harvest-experience area for visitors.
 

Gene-editing seminar and autonomous sprayer demonstrations… From breeding to smart agriculture

The academic program focused on the latest breeding technologies. On the 21st, the Korean Society of Seed Science and Industry and KOAT held a seminar on “Gene-Editing Technology and the Seed Industry.” A seminar on multispectral imaging (MSI) analyzers for seed analysis was also held the same day. On the 22nd, events continued with a presentation by the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science on achievements in developing vegetable breeding materials and breeding technologies, a technical briefing on promoting the dissemination of new-variety seeds, a workshop by the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences on digital phenotyping image-analysis technology, and the regular symposium of the Korean Hot Pepper Research Society.

Visitors could also see smart-agriculture technology demonstrations on site. Daedong Co., Ltd. operated an autonomous transport vehicle along an approximately 300-meter section from the sweet potato harvest-experience area to the entrance of the exhibition fields. GINT Co., Ltd. demonstrated an autonomous sprayer four times a day at the agricultural machinery exhibition area in Exhibition Field 2. For general visitors, programs included a cooking class by Buddhist nun Sun-jae, tasting and evaluation sessions for Korean varieties, a seed-industry quiz show, and healing-agriculture experiences. A stamp tour covering the agricultural machinery booths, healing-agriculture area, and KOAT booth was also operated.

Alongside the expo, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also announced a plan to support the entire life cycle of the seed industry. A seed processing center to be jointly used by seed companies is scheduled for completion and pilot operation in early 2027. A project to build advanced intelligent greenhouses for developing varieties suitable for smart farms (2026–2027, total budget of 2 billion won) is also underway. The ministry also presented a plan to create a “Seed Industry Innovation Cluster” linking research and development to production and export.