Green pear varieties whose supply the Rural Development Administration is expanding. From left: Seolwon, prized for its sweetness and snow-white flesh; Super Gold, known for its yellow skin and sweet-tart flavor; and Greensys, valued for its abundant juice. [Rural Development Administration]
Green pear varieties whose supply the Rural Development Administration is expanding. From left: Seolwon, prized for its sweetness and snow-white flesh; Super Gold, known for its yellow skin and sweet-tart flavor; and Greensys, valued for its abundant juice. [Rural Development Administration]

The government is moving to expand the supply of green pears in an effort to break up a market dominated by the Shingo variety, which accounts for more than 85 percent of Korea's pear cultivation area. The aim is to broaden consumption beyond the current pattern of buying large, visually impressive pears for holidays, encouraging people to reach for pears of varied flavors and sizes in their everyday shopping.

According to the Rural Development Administration, Shingo covered 85.4 percent of the country's total pear cultivation area as of 2025. Developed in Japan in 1927 and introduced to Korea during the colonial period, Shingo made up just 35 percent of cultivation area in the 1980s before climbing past 70 percent in the late 1990s and reaching its current dominance.

The concentration on Shingo has shaped the entire growing and retail supply chain. In the 1990s, the development of gibberellin treatment — which moves the harvest forward by about a week while boosting fruit size and yield — made it easier to supply large, attractive Shingo pears in time for major holidays. Storage technology and growing and distribution systems subsequently developed around the variety, deepening the imbalance.

The problem is that consumer habits have shifted. Demand is growing for moderately sized pears with diverse flavors and uses that people can buy easily on any given day, rather than large gift-box pears reserved for holidays. Heavy concentration on a single variety also means harvests cluster at the same time, pushing prices down, and makes it harder to respond flexibly to shifting consumer preferences or weather-related crop damage. When chuseok falls early in the season, underripe Shingo has also been shipped to meet holiday demand.

The varieties the Rural Development Administration is promoting as alternatives are green pears — Seolwon, Super Gold and Greensys. Their appearance alone sets them apart from the familiar brown pear, making it easy for consumers to recognize them as something new, and each variety differs in flavor and texture.

Seolwon is an early-season variety harvested in early September, with an average weight of 600 grams and a sugar content of 14 Brix — two Brix points sweeter than Shingo. Its flesh browns less after cutting, making it suitable for sale as pre-sliced fruit. The administration says it can be stored at room temperature for about 30 days and produces fruit that is relatively uniform in size and quality, giving it an advantage for large-scale distribution.

Super Gold is also harvested in early September, averaging 570 grams and 13.6 Brix, with a flavor that combines sweetness with a mild tartness. Retail specialists gave it an overall satisfaction score of 4.25 out of 5, and it ranked first in a marketability survey among wholesale distributors.

Greensys, harvested in mid-September, averages 460 grams and 12.3 Brix. Its green skin conceals juicy, crisp flesh. The variety shows strong resistance to black spot disease and keeps well in cold storage — in some cases, refrigerated stock has been sold as late as June the following year.

Cultivation of all three remains limited. Last year, the growing area stood at 10 hectares for Seolwon, 27 hectares for Super Gold and 43 hectares for Greensys. The Rural Development Administration plans to secure larger volumes by establishing production complexes involving local governments and specialized distribution organizations. For Seolwon, the agency is pursuing a 10-hectare complex in Ulsan by 2029 and a 30-hectare complex in Naju by 2030.

In Naju, the country's largest pear-producing region, variety diversification is advancing relatively quickly. Last year, the national pear cultivation area reached 9,316 hectares, with Naju accounting for about 18 percent of that total. Of Naju's 1,642 hectares under pear cultivation, 425 hectares — or 25.8 percent — were planted with domestically bred varieties, roughly 1.8 times the national average. Shingo's share in Naju stood at 74.2 percent, below the national figure.

Variety transition, however, takes time. Orchards are typically replanted every 20 to 30 years, and once a pear variety becomes established as the main crop, it can remain in production for more than 50 years. Switching to a new variety also means at least three years without a harvest or income, a significant burden for farming households.

"For the pear industry to keep growing, we need to move beyond holiday-centered consumption and give consumers the option of choosing delicious domestic pears any time of year," said Yun Su-hyeon, head of the horticultural crops division at the Rural Development Administration's National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science. "We will build the production and distribution infrastructure suited to the characteristics of green pear varieties to strengthen the competitiveness of farming households and meet consumer demand."


adastra@heraldcorp.com