HA NOI (VNS)  — The third Korean ginseng festival will be held from December 5 to 7 at Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, No 72A Nguyen Trai Road, Thanh Xuan District.

Six South Korean companies including Star Korea, Jinsanscience Co. Ltd, Cheong Jeong Insam Co. Ltd and Hongsam365 (Hongsammin) Co. Ltd will offer products made from ginseng, like wine and tea, as well as dried ginseng and ginseng juice.

Customers will be able to get free medical check-ups from Korean specialists and acupuncturists from Daejeon University's Oriental Hospital. They will also have the chance to taste Samgyetang, insam kimchi and fried ginseng for free. Korean chefs will make the samples from 11.45am to 4.15pm each day.

The Embassy of Korea in Viet Nam, the Korean Cultural Centre in Ha Noi, the Viet Nam Food Safety Authority under the Ministry of Health, and Business Network International (BNI) are sponsoring the event.

Korea sold about 22,000 tonnes of ginseng last year, mainly exported to Japan, Hong Kong and Viet Nam, according to statistics given by the organisers.

This year's event is expected to lure around 40,000 visitors, as opposed to last year's 30,500. — VNS