Chili peppers drying on bamboo trays over earthenware jars · Photo: ASADAL, Inc. / CC BY 2.0 kr (Wikimedia Commons)
KoreaNorth Chungcheong · EumseongEumseong Chili Peppers: The County Credited With Korea's First Mulched Pepper Fields
Eumseong in North Chungcheong is known for its many chili fields. Here is the story of plastic mulching for peppers, said to have first succeeded here in 1973, the switch from a small local variety to improved ones, the county's washed-and-sun-dried pepper brand, and how to stock up on chili powder at the autumn festival.
A County of Chili Fields
Eumseong County in north-central North Chungcheong has long been known for chili peppers. According to a 1991 Seoul Shinmun report, 65% of all farm households in the county grew peppers, on 1,272 hectares producing an estimated 2,620 tons, or 14.6% of the province's pepper acreage. The land and climate get the credit. Pepper fields sit mostly on well-drained hillsides and sandy soil, with plenty of sunshine and a good gap between day and night temperatures. A 2025 report adds that Eumseong lies on the watershed between the Han and Geum rivers, and that this location and the wide daily temperature swing give the peppers a rich aroma.
1973: Plastic Over the Pepper Rows
Drive through the Korean countryside today and you will see field rows covered in black plastic. This is mulching: covering the soil to hold in moisture and warmth and keep weeds down. In 1991 the Seoul Shinmun described Eumseong as the birthplace of mulched pepper growing. In 1973, it reported, a farmer in Sincheon-ri, Eumseong-eup, adapted the plastic film used for tobacco and became the first in Korea to grow peppers this way successfully, and the method spread to pepper farms nationwide. The same article says Eumseong once grew mostly a small-fruited local variety called bungeocho, but by 1991 improved large-fruited varieties made up about 70%. A plastic tunnel method had also been developed that raised yields by 20 to 30%. An experiment in one small county's fields changed the look of pepper farming across Korea.
Washed and Sun-Dried: The "Clean Pepper" Brand
Eumseong peppers are sold nationwide under the county's shared brand, Eumseong Cheonggyeol Gochu, meaning "clean pepper." According to a 2025 Food Today report, the brand began in 1995, and the peppers go through washing, drying and solar drying under HACCP food safety standards. As the name says, cleanliness is the selling point. A 2015 Seoul Shinmun feature on kimchi-making listed Eumseong among Korea's nationally known peppers, describing them as strongly spicy and aromatic, with thick flesh that yields plenty of powder and a bright, clear red color. It added that farmers wash them carefully and dry them in the sun before they go out under the brand. Thick-walled peppers give more powder for the same weight, which households making big batches of kimchi especially appreciate.
From Pepper Festival to Masterpiece Festival
For years Eumseong held a pepper festival every late summer. Today the pepper festival, the Eumseong Ginseng Festival and the county flower festival are combined into the Eumseong Masterpiece Festival, named after the county's farm-produce brand. The 2024 edition was the third. In 2024 it ran September 5 to 8 around Geumbit Park in Geumwang-eup. Market stalls sold peppers and other local produce at good prices, and a paid mill service let visitors grind the peppers they had just bought into powder on the spot. An exhibition hall showcased peppers and the county's other main products. Dates and venues can change from year to year, so check the county's announcements before you go.
How to Enjoy Eumseong Peppers
Chili peppers are less a dish than the backbone of Korean flavor. The red color and heat of kimchi, gochujang, stews and seasoned vegetables all come from gochugaru, ground dried peppers. That is why many Korean households buy the year's new peppers in late summer and autumn, before kimchi-making season, and prepare a whole year's supply of powder. If you visit Eumseong, the most local experience is to buy dried peppers at the festival or a farmers' market and have them ground at a mill on the spot. When choosing, look for even, vivid color and thick walls. Neighboring Goesan is also known for peppers, so as you travel through central inland Chungbuk in autumn you will often see peppers drying bright red in the sun. That scene is the region's own autumn greeting.