FieldPolitics, Economy and Society / Economy & Industry
Contents TypeSpecialty
Production site16, Byeonsan-ro Haengan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
Definition
A local specialty product made by processing silkworms cultivated in the Byeonsan Peninsula, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
Summary
Buan in Jeollabuk-do has been the center of silkworm farming in South Korea for the last 30 years and is also home to a “silkworm village” with a tradition stretching back 150 years. Byeonsan Silkworms are a high-quality product cultivated with pesticide-free mulberry leaves grown in the West Sea breeze that sweeps across the Byeonsan Peninsula, which is a clean area with a large amount of annual precipitation.
Origins and Development
Buan-gun was designated as a Special Silkworm Town Zone by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in September 2006, and the Silkworm Town was established there in May 2010. This was followed in April 2011 by the opening of the Buan Mulberry Research Institute to cultivate mulberries and conduct R&D on disease and insect control measures, and the construction of a sericulture breeding site in October of the same year for the cultivation of mulberry trees and the production of mulberries, ushering in a new era in the development and distribution of sericulture technology. The Special Silkworm Town Zone was renamed as the Clean Silkworm Town Zone in May 2012, and Buan has since become the national center for research and development on, and the production, processing, distribution and marketing of, mulberries and silkworms. It also runs experience programs for the public.
Production Method and Characteristics
Byeonsan Silkworms are made by freeze-drying newborn silkworms fed with mulberry leaves, which contain mainly water, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins, and then processing them into silkworm powder and pills and other products no earlier than 38 days after their birth. This is because the thirty-eighth day after a silkworm’s birth is the period just before the rapid development of a silkworm’s silk gland, when silkworms reach their largest size and optimal nutritional status. To make a processed product, silkworms are first cultivated until they become grown-up silkworms, and are injected with water to render them insensible; after which they are dried in a drying machine and processed into various types of products, such as silkworm powder and silkworm pills. Silkworms contain eighteen kinds of amino acids which are effective in lowering elevated sugar levels, while their aspartic acid content is effective in preventing arteriosclerosis by strengthening the blood vessels and improving cholesterolosis. Male silkworms contain substances that stabilize abnormally high or low blood pressure to the normal level. Silkworms are also rich in vitamin E, which can energize a tired mind and body and restore one’s energy, so powder made with grown-up silkworms and silkworm pills are recognized as well-being foods.
Current Status including Relevant Industry
As Buan-gun has recognized the functionality and potential of silkworm and sericulture products, the county aims to foster the sericulture industry as a twenty-first century industry and develop the related products. With the objective of making mulberries a luxury product of Buan by developing and distributing products related to sericulture, the construction of the Buan Silkworm Town began to be promoted as a new “vitalization” project in 2005. Meanwhile, the project to build the Buan Silkworm Town was carried out with an investment of about KRW 6.3 billion, centered on the village of Yuyu in Mapo-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, for five years from 2004. In 2003, the Yuyu Silkworm Village, which has a sericulture tradition of some 150 years, was designated as a “clean region of Korea” by the Rural Development Administration and, with the construction of a sericulture complex (100ha), Buan was designated as the Special Silkworm Town Zone, which accelerated the construction project of the Buan Silkworm Town. Built to foster the local sericulture industry, the Buan Silkworm Town consists of processing and marketing facilities for sericulture products, the Sericulture Exhibition Hall, the Buan Insect Science Museum, the Nature Experience Center, and the Silkworm Lab. Buan-gun is planning to promote the revitalization of the local economy by developing new tourist products which connect tourism and experience/relaxation programs with the silkworm town. The village of Yuyu is Korea’s largest silkworm production site and has been benchmarked as a success case by other regions and academia around the country. As Yuyu in Mapo-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do was widely recognized for its mulberry cultivation system and traditional way of cultivating silkworms, the Yuyu-dong Sericulture Industry was designated as National Important Agricultural Heritage No. 8 in December 2017. The Buan Mulberry Farming Association Corporation, which represents the mulberry farms in Buan, produces and sells Buan mulberry-fed silkworm products such as silkworm pills, silkworm granules, and grown-up silkworms.
