HARVESTING SPRING HERBS

[Anchor Lead]

Despite heavy snowfall and an ongoing cold spell, telltale signs of spring can be found around villages near Jirisan Mountain. One of them is spring herbs grown in greenhouses. Local farmers have begun harvesting them, ushering in the new season a little early.

[Pkg]

With continued snowfal, a rural village near Jirisan Mountain turned into a winter wonderland. But it is all green inside this 600 square-meter greenhouse. Ragwort leaves, often called one of the best spring herbs, have grown into a size as large as human palms. It is thanks to a new cultivation method promoting the budding and growth of the plant.

[Soundbite] YEOM GIL-SEONG(FARMER) : "It feels like spring in here. When it gets cold at night, the plants are covered so they don't freeze and die."

Inside a greenhouse in Hadong-gun County, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, farmers are busy harvesting well-grown aster leaves. The production is not good enough due to heavy rain last year and they pick each leave with great care. In Hadong, some 630 farms earn an annual income of roughly five billion won by producing about 3,400 tons of aster leaves growing on 97 hectares of land. The produce is a good income source for the farmers who are hit by the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Soundbite] KIM YOUNG-GIL(FARMER) : "As the village is located below Jirisan Mountain, groundwater is warmer and the temperature is also three to four degrees higher than in other regions even during the freezing winter. We are the first in the country to ship out new aster leaves."

Selling for 7,800 won per kilogram, Hadong aster leaves will be shipped out across the nation until June.