Era of KRW 4 Trillion of Korean Seafood Exports, Leading Role of Glory

The Korean seafood exports in 2022 was aggregated at 3 billion 6.23 million dollars, an increase by 15% from the last year, and is about to reach KRW 4 trillion in annual exports for the first time in Korean Won (as of December 9). The primary contributor is ‘Laver’, which has ranked first for 4 consecutive years with the exports of 622.53 million dollars. Next is tuna, which reached 581.13 million dollars in exports. If laver and tuna are ‘the top star’ in the exported seafood industry, there are also ‘rising stars’ which are expected to grow in the future. There are salmon, mackerel, dissostichus, etc. whose exports increased by more than 100% compared with the last year.

 

 

 

△ 2022 Exports for Marine Products per Item / Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Unit : ton, 1,000 dollars, %)

Among them, both mackerel export volume and exports increased rapidly this year compared with last year. It may seem of little importance compared with other items, but it can be seen that mackerel has sufficient competitiveness in terms of quality and price considering that Korea’s mackerel exports ranks second in the world after Norway, ‘Mackerel Powerhouse’.

As with most marine products, in particular, mackerel quickly loses freshness, so its quality depends on the speed of distribution and processing after catch. We met Sunghu Kim, the representative of Ollebadang Fishermen’s Union Corporation, which spreads the freshness of the clean Sea to the world with the principle of ‘Catch․ Processing on the same day’ in Jeju Island, a major mackerel fishing ground in the country.

 

Ollebadang Fishermen’s Union Corporation spreading the taste and charm of Jeju marine products to the world

Ollebadang located in Naedo-dong, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea is the fishery association corporation specialized in the processing of marine products, the distribution of food materials, etc. in Jeju. Since it was established in October 2011, it has tried to promote the excellence of food which is grown up in Jeju with its own brand ‘Hanole’. It mainly produces Jeju specialties such as hairtail, red-banded lobster, mackerel, red tilefish, flounder, Japanese Spanish mackerel, etc. and its annual production is about 200 tons and its annual sales are 3 billion won as of this year, an increase by about 120% compared with 2.5 billion won last year.

As it also engages in the distribution business of food materials for schools and hospitals, it handles about 130 items in total. It is actively running multilateral sales windows which can be used by consumers in a main room including online sales channels such as its own shopping mall, a famous open market, etc. and home shopping in addition to the lunch program.

Ollebadang produces all products through the clean and safe hygiene system which has obtained certification such as JQ, HACCP, FSSC22000, FDA(FFR), etc. It mainly exports products to the United States, Hong Kong, Vietnam, etc. and recognizing for contributing to the development of the Jeju Fishery Industry and the local economy, it won the excellence award of exports on the Day of Jeju Exporters in 2014, the award certificate from Jeju Small & medium Business Corporation in 2017 and the award certificate from the governor of Jeju-do in 2019.

 

 

 

 

△ External View of Ollebadang (Top). Sanitary Space for Product Processing (Bottom)

Jeju Mackerel Flesh made with Fresh Mackerel caught on the day

The products that Ollebadang obtained K·FISH certification is ‘Jeju Mackerel Flesh’. Mackerel caught in the coastal waters of Jeju Island is the representative specialty famous for its excellent taste and quality. In particular, for mackerel in fall and winter, a fat ratio increases to 23~25%, maximizing blue-backed fish’s unique savory flavor including chewy texture, rich juice, etc.

In principle, Ollebadang purchases mackerel caught in the coastal waters of Jeju Island such as Marado Island, Moseulpo, etc. at the Jeju port and the Hallim port at every dawn and processes the entire quantity on the same day. As ‘Jeju Mackerel Flesh’ is quick-frozen and vacuum-packed in a process of washing, salting and 2nd washing after removing the head, intestines and bones, it has the original taste and freshness of mackerel. The consumers can easily cook it everywhere and enjoy the taste of Jeju because there is no need for separate cleaning or washing and they can easily keep it because they can take it out as much as they can with individual vacuum packaging.

“I think that for marine products, in particular, fish, it is most important to keep them fresh from catch to consumers’ table. The biggest advantage for keeping freshness is geographical requirements. Because it is the Jeju Island, mackerel caught on the same day can be processed on the same day. We carry out every process in a quick and sanitary way after purchase in Jeju, so we are confident that consumers can enjoy the best taste and freshness.””

 

 

△ Mackerel Flesh with K·FISH Certification

Patented‘Red-banded Lobster’, Strengthen competitiveness by developing food using marine products

In addition to main processed food such as mackerel, hairtail, etc., there is a product which is recommended confidently by Mr. Kim. It is ‘Jeju Red-banded Lobster Lamen’ made with Jeju specialty, red-banded lobsters. Its core is ‘Red-banded Lobster tea bag’ which integrates the technical skills of Ollebadang and a roasting method therefor is currently patent-pending in the United States and South Korea.

Red-banded Lobster tea bags are made only with the best-quality red-banded lobsters caught in the coastal waters of Jeju Island. Its core technology is to repeat a process of steaming and drying red-banded lobsters for 24 hours, pulverize them in a proper size and vacuum-roast them at high temperature to maximize the flavor of red-banded lobsters. If you soak a red-banded lobster tea bag in boiling water, you will have savory and light broth immediately and if you boil it with power soup base made of crushed Cheongyang chili peppers, solid ingredients soup base made of domestic vegetables including dried shiitake mushrooms, dried seaweed, dried carrots, etc. and potato noodles, spicy, non-greasy and clean red-banded lobster ramen is ready.

Red-banded lobster ramen, which was released in October 2020 after 2 years of research, had sold like hot cakes at home and abroad through duty-free shops, Jeju souvenir shops, online shopping malls, etc., recording 120,000 in sales in 5 months. In 2021 alone, red-banded lobster ramen turned over a whopping 500 million won. It means that in case of a slowdown in sales due to COVID-19, it played a pivotal role. The reason why Mr. Kim spent a long time developing red-banded lobster ramen is that seafood-based food is another competitiveness.

“It is good to sell Jeju marine products at they are, but I think it is essential to develop food using them. I believe that only when locally-specialized products are made, it can increase the competitiveness and added value of Jeju marine products and furthermore, contribute to the regional economic vitalization through the growth of local companies and the creation of josbs.”

 

 

△ Red-banded lobster ramen and Red-banded lobster tea bag of Ollebadang

12 Years for Promoting Local Marine Products

The representative Sunghu Kim is from Jeju, but he did not engage in the fishery industry in Jeju from the beginning. In his early 20s, he went to Seoul to prepare for judicial examination, but not long after that, his father died. He started to work as the manager of legal staffs for immediate subsistence, which became his occupation for 20 years. He had led a good life enough to have a happy family, but upon entering his 40s, he frequently missed his hometown and decided to return home after careful consideration.

“While thinking about what I should do, I got interested in the fishery industry. The marine products in Jeju were famous for their quality and people thought they are expensive, but actually, those engaged in the fishing industry did not make a big profit. I wondered why. I analyzed the market and distribution structure and sought a method of maximizing profitability through the processing of aquatic products.”

Before the establishment of Ollebadang, he developed the understanding of marine products and the fishery industry while directly doing fishing operation and going around fish markets and auction houses across the country. Even after establishing Ollebadang in 2011, he worked day and night with absolutely nothing for a while. And in 2012, when school lunch was switched into public bidding, the company started to be stable gradually as it supplied products to provincial schools and since then, he had strengthened a business portfolio by carrying out things including directly making use of home shopping without vendors, aggressively selling products with an online shopping mall and others. In 2019, he established a branch in Vietnam to spur exports. In the 12th year since he founded the company, the reason why he could come this far was that he had a goal of widely introducing marine products in his hometown.

Goal to make Jeju marine products world-class by strengthening exports

In order to accomplish a goal, Ollebadang consistently participates in domestic and foreign exhibitions once a month. The representative said that aquatic products taste best when they are fresh and natural. He said that because the recent trend also pursues the original taste and freshness of food, the company will constantly specialize and show products which make the best use of the natural taste as much as possible. And he added that the company is planning more than 10 products which use red-banded lobsters as raw materials and it will not stop making efforts to increase the value of Jeju marine products by studying the technology for producing collagen raw materials using fish skin.

 

 

△ Ollebadang Booth in Exhibitions

 

 

△ Product Container Loading for Exports

“In these days when the pandemic is over, it is a very important time to advance into the wider world market. I certainly believe that the quality of Jeju aquatic products is already world-class. It is time to actively promote and support. The exports of red-banded lobster ramen and various products are expected to increase next year. I will continue to develop food using Jeju marine products and widely publicize that Jeju aquatic products are best in the world.”

■ Information related to Ollebadang

△ BI of llebadang’s Brand Hanole

▷ Address : Ollebadang Fishermen’s Union Corporation, 74, Dogeunnae-gil, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea (Naedo-dong)
▷ Inquiry : Tel.070-4122-2222     Fax.064-749-4200
▷ E-mail : kshb0000@naver.com
▷ Homepage : www.hanolle.com

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As with most marine products, in particular, mackerel quickly loses freshness, so its quality depends on the speed of distribution and processing after catch. We met Sunghu Kim, the representative of Ollebadang Fishermen’s Union Corporation, which spreads the freshness of the clean Sea to the world with the principle of ‘Catch․ Processing on the same day’ in Jeju Island, a major mackerel fishing ground in the country.