earticle

영어

This article examines the structure and dynamics of the ginseng market in Taiwan during the 1920s under the Japanese colonial monopoly system, with particular attention to the interaction between imperial capital, local merchants, and Korean traders. Existing studies have largely described the Taiwanese ginseng market as a unilateral structure dominated by the Japanese Government-General and Mitsui & Co. However, contemporary newspapers, advertisements, and commercial directories reveal a more complex configuration involving multiple actors and distribution channels. By analyzing Mitsui’s internal branch managers’ meeting records and the travel accounts of Kaes?ng ginseng merchants, this study demonstrates that red ginseng functioned as a strategic monopoly commodity through which the colonial state and Mitsui sought to control price, supply, and quality while expanding their economic sphere across East Asia, particularly into South China and Southeast Asia. Within this system, Taiwan emerged as a distinctive market in which monopoly retail rights were delegated to selected local merchants. Focusing on the activities of Taiwanese merchants such as Chang Ching-kang and Li Chin-tsan, the article shows how the monopoly structure was locally implemented and adapted. Chang consolidated dominance over the red ginseng market through state backing, media support, and discourses of authenticity and legal compliance, while Li pursued an alternative strategy by modernizing traditional Chinese medicine and integrating retail with medical services. In contrast, the Korean merchant Han Jae-ryong operated outside the red ginseng monopoly, developing an independent market centered on white ginseng and processed ginseng products while also serving as a key figure within the Korean community in Taiwan. By reconstructing the largely overlooked activities of Han Jae-ryong, this study argues that the Taiwanese ginseng market was not a monolithic monopoly but a plural commercial space where multiple actors and practices coexisted. Through a cross-analysis of heterogeneous sources?including newspapers, advertisements, official documents, and merchants’ travel records?this article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of colonial-era commodity markets and highlights the significance of Korean overseas merchants within East Asian commercial networks.