South Korea
Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do

Wando County cultivates a variety of seaweeds, including laver, sea mustard, kelp, hijiki, sea lettuce, and green sea fingers, and is the main seaweed production area in Korea, accounting for 50% of the country’s total seaweed production.

In 2021, NASA drew attention by releasing satellite images of Wando's seaweed farms, highlighting Wando as an ideal and eco-friendly location for seaweed farming.

Since then, the value of Wando seaweed has gained widespread recognition, and stakeholders in the seaweed industry from around the world—including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the World Bank (WB), NGOs, and professionals from the UK, the US, Canada, and other countries—have been making ongoing visits to Wando's seaweed farms.