Ginseng helps parish become more financially self-reliant

Mary Kim Eun-sook, a volunteer worker at rural Punggi parish, receives around 10 phone calls a day asking about ginseng products.

This is not surprising as the parish in Yeongju city in the east has been advertising its red ginseng for the past few years, the latest being in the Pyeonghwa Shinmun, the Seoul archdiocese-run weekly, on April 12.

Punggi parish is one of many parishes in Andong diocese that runs businesses to fund parish projects.

Kim said her parish has been selling red ginseng extract since July 2007. Proceeds from this enterprise have allowed the parish to open a new daycare center in its church compound in October 2008. The center now serves 50 children aged 3-7.

According to Kim, running the business not only generates income for the parish but also creates a strong bond among parishioners. Most of the sales are now done through the Internet, which she oversees.

According to the parish website (www.pgsdmall.com), the parish sells two kinds of red ginseng that come in boxes with 60 pouches, each containing 100 milliliters of ginseng juice. A box of five-year-old ginseng costs 90,000 won (about US$67) and a box of six-year-old ginseng costs 170,000 won.

Sebastiano Kim Im-soon, who runs a ginseng processing factory, said the parish buys the herb from farmers, who are mostly not Catholics, and uses his factory to process and pack it.

Parish priest Father Paul Lee Seong-kil said parishes here have to look for their own sources of finance as the diocese is unable to cover all their expenses. The priest, who is also vicar general of Andong diocese, said his parish spent about 300 million won for its daycare center.

He added that his parish has about 700 members but only 150 participate in Church activities.

Father Stephen Nam Jeong-hong, the diocesan chancellor and procurator, said many parishes in his diocese engage in similar enterprises. Uljin Church, for instance, sells seafood and honey, so as to build a soup kitchen for homeless people, while Shingidong parish sells dried persimmon to raise funds for an education center. “We thank them for their efforts to find their own fundings,” Father Nam said.

Andong diocese had 45,966 Catholics, accounting for 6.1 percent of the 759,396 people in its territory, according to 2007 Church statistics. The diocese has 36 parishes and 72 mission stations.