Hunt Quietly, With the Gods

Sept. 20, 2007 — -- A 40-minute drive outside of Sam-Chok, South Korea, Choi Moo Yeol is searching for hidden treasure. It's not gold or silver, rubies or emeralds, but rather a small leafy plant -- extremely rare wild ginseng.

Choi is the leader of a group of wild ginseng diggers -- the "Shimmani" in Korean -- headed into the country's thickly forested mountains in hopes of finding this coveted prize.

Traditionally in South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, the wild ginseng root has been credited with possessing supernatural healing powers -- properties believed to be absent in the farmed variety.

Because of their extreme rarity and supposed medicinal powers, wild ginseng plants yield prices ranging into the tens of thousands of dollars, boosting these roots' desirability and fueling the imaginations of Shimmani across the region.

Just a few days before their latest journey, which can last anywhere from a few days to several months depending on the weather, these hunters were reminded of just how lucrative these tiny plants can be when a fellow Shimmani found a family of wild ginseng roots, worth at least $33,000 on an online auction and at least double that when resold at shops in the city.

The Chinese call it "root of heaven." Koreans see it as a blessing from the mountain gods. Lots of cancer patients come looking for ginseng roots, Choi said, searching for the balancing power of wild ginseng which supposedly infuses the human system with unparalleled energy.

Hunting for wild ginseng involves immense patience, a vast knowledge of the plant and its habitat, but also a good healthy dose of superstition. In the mountains north of Sam-Chok, Choi and his team believe their success depends on the whims of the mountain spirits, both good and evil.

To appease the gods for entering their forest home, many Shimmani only hunt in odd numbers, and, according to myth, women are "impure" and, thus, banned from going along on the journey. Other restrictions include no sex and regular baths to keep the Shimmani's mind and soul as pure as possible.