Policies to foster Jeju’s black rain, which is free from the threat of extinction, as an industry ar..

Policies to foster Jeju’s black rain, which is free from the threat of extinction, as an industry are being promoted.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 29th that it will establish and promote a “strategy to foster Jeju’s black cow brand for local resources.”

Jeju black rain was a regular gift on the three days of the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty (the birthday of the king, the first day of January, and the winter solstice), and was treated as a precious ritual item during the country’s major ancestral rites.

However, following the exclusion of “Hanwoo” in the Japanese colonial era, a small industrial policy focused on meat was implemented in 1980, and Jeju’s black cow, which is small in size and low in meat, was in danger of being culled. Fortunately, Jeju Island successfully collected and multiplied 10 purebred Jeju black cattle across Jeju from 1992 to 1993, and 1,282 are currently being raised. In 2004, Jeju black beef was officially registered as a Korean beef variety by the International Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and in 2013, it was designated as Natural Monument No. 546.

According to Jeju Island’s development plan, the number of breeding heads will be increased from 1,282 heads this year to 4,000 heads by 2030. In addition, it plans to expand the selection of excellent seed cows (three to four heads) and the supply of semen through the production and supply of high-capacity black cow fertilized eggs.

In addition, in order to expand the distribution market, consumers’ accessibility will be strengthened by easing the standards of Jeju’s black cow certification stores, strengthening marketing, and supporting sales facilities.

An official from Jeju Island said, “We will foster Jeju black cow as a luxury Jeju specialty product through the proliferation and systematic improvement of Jeju black cow.”

Meanwhile, in 2020, the Jeju Black Beef Research Center at Jeju National University published a study in an international academic journal that Jeju Black Beef has higher unsaturated fatty acids (cholesterol-lowering effects), glutamine (enhancing immunity), and oleic acid (taste of umami) than Japanese Wagyu.