Korean ginseng was first introduced to the west by Dutch merchants in 1610 and is said to have been taken to England by traders of the British East India Company. When the effects of wild ginseng came to be known, westerners began to think of ginseng as a cure-all medicinal root.
In 1711, French missionary Pierre Jartoux (1668-1720) produced an illustration of Korean wild ginseng and in the book Joseon published by the Belgian author Goschen in 1902, Korean ginseng is described as a product so rare and precious that it had been presented as a gift to the French king, Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715). The French philosopher and author of Emile, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), was fond of Korean ginseng. This fact is recorded in his works. In 1996, when France’s former president, Francois Mitterand, died the newspaper “Le Monde” reported that although doctors had given Mitterand three months to live, this had been extended to seven months by the consumption of Korea Insam, ginseng.
These are just a few examples of how the medical marvel of Korean ginseng has come to be known far and wide. The ancient Chinese medical text New Agricultural Manual, compiled around the fifth century, states that, “Ginseng strengthens the five viscera, stabilizes the mind, makes the eye clear and the body nimble and promotes longevity.”
Recent research has startled the medical world by showing that ginseng is effective against a wide range of conditions including fatigue, stress, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and blood sugar levels, aging, impotence, alcoholism and skin conditions such as pimples, freckles and eczema.
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