Gim, or laver, a type of edible seaweed, is one of the staple side dishes found on the Korean table. It is a very versatile ingredient, as it can be cooked in a variety of forms. It can come as gim gyeranmari, a rolled egg omelette in seaweed, or it can be fried along with dried shrimp or fish. Sometimes, it can come as gim muchim, mixed with a sweet and salty sauce. Seaweed is capable of many transformations, bringing variety, color and texture to the meal.

Long one of Korean cuisine's favorite side dishes, laver is now being loved in markets beyond the peninsula, if not necessarily as a traditional Korean side dish then certainly as a snack. Dongwon F&B, a food producer, markets a variety of flavored seaweeds, including olive, wasabi and spicy kimchi, all gaining popularity among foreign consumers. Sea Veggies, Dongwon's brand of flavored laver, in particular is known as a snack that is low in calories but rich in taste, and finds its place in the grocery carts of parents concerned for their children's health. Considered to be a healthy marine snack, earlier this year Sea Veggie products began to be distributed in more than 2,700 grocery stores managed by the Kroger Company, a U.S.-based retailer. According to Dongwon, many types of its seasoned seaweed are being sold at snack bars in a number of public schools in the U.S.

Laver has been exported to the U.S., but also to Canada and Europe, having already swept through Japan, China and Thailand. Nowadays, the U.S. is regarded as a new emerging market when it comes to edible seaweed, as it can now be found on shelves at Whole Foods Market and Costco. The retailers are normally supplied with Korean laver through a Korea-based producer, and they then sell it onward in their local markets with their own brands.

The U.S. market is not the only target for seaweed producers. Sales of laver have shown a big increase in markets in Japan, Thailand and China as well. According to 2013 year-end trade figures, Korean seaweed saw exports worth as much as USD 61.08 million to the U.S., and was followed by exports to Japan worth USD 54.14 million. Thailand (USD 33.52 million) and China (USD 30.10 million) followed.

In recent years, laver has shown the biggest increase among Korea's many exported agricultural products. As of 2007, seaweed exports remained at around USD 59.70 million, but they rose to USD 161.49 million in 2011, to USD 231.01 million in 2012 and surpassed USD 250 million last year. These sales figures have seen a three-fold increase in the past four years.

Laver, a type of marine seaweed, grows on rocks underwater. In the past, it was called haeui, as it makes the sea look like it's wearing a garment. Most of the gim in Korea comes from Wando County in Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province), a famous region for various types of marine algae. The seaweed grown in Wando makes up as much as four fifths of the total laver harvested across the country.


Seaweed collected from the sea is commercialized as it is processed, being dried and heated to around 180 or 200 degrees Celsius for around 5 to 30 seconds. Laver is great both in taste and nutrients. A serving of laver has less than 1 percent of the fat recommended in a standard daily diet, but contains as much as 30 to 40 percent of a day's needed proteins and carbohydrates. Moreover, a single piece of laver has Vitamin A, equivalent to that provided by two eggs, as well as Vitamin B1, B2, C and D. Seaweed is also rich in calcium, potassium, iron and phosphorus.


Encouraged by the worldwide popularity of laver, many seaweed farms in Wando County, as well as larger corporations, have started to widen their business scope these days, investing in new domestic breeds of seaweed.

By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr