H I S T O R Y O F S E A W E E D
The earliest mention of seaweed is recorded
in the “Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms,” a document compiled by
Buddhist Il-Yeon during the reign of King Chungnyeol in the Goryeo Dynasty.
The document contains passages that
record seaweed having been eaten since the Shilla Dynasty.
In addition, the “Compendium of Materia Media,” compiled during the Ming Dynasty, states,
"Seaweed is extracted from the deep seas of Shilla by divers with straw ropes tied around their waist.
After April, collecting seaweed is impossible since the big fishes eat them all."
While the “Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms” records that seaweed has been eaten since the Shilla Dynasty, the first official record of seaweed is in the “Geographical Record of Gyeongsangdo.”
It says seaweed has been eaten in Hadong, Gyeongnam since the early Joseon Dynasty.
The “Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea” also mentions that seaweed was harvested in Gwangyang, Jeonnam about 400 years ago.
The Korean translation for seaweed “Gim” was named after Kim Yeo-ik in Gwangyang, Jeonnam,
who was the first person to cultivate seaweed and spread the knowledge of his know-hows around 1650.
In the 1960s, seaweed started to be mass-cultivated as the development of seed collecting techniques and spreading of laver beds led to the wide use of cultivation facilities.
The record of Japanese seaweed is found in “Sea Vegetable,” a book written by Dr. Ohusa Tsuyoshi. It states that Japanese people have been consuming seaweed since the early Kyoho reforms during the Edo period.