The health functional food market is rapidly growing. As interest in boosting immunity increases, products that reinterpret traditional medicinal herbs in a modern way are gaining attention. Cordyceps, known as one of the three major oriental medicines, has been difficult to popularize due to its reliance on harvesting. However, there is a figure who has opened the door to the industrialization of Cordyceps through mass production technology using brown rice.

This individual is Sung Jae-mo, the director of the Cordyceps Research Institute at Mushtech Co., Ltd., headquartered in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.

Director Sung is a researcher and entrepreneur who has dedicated 41 years of his life to the field of Cordyceps. An honorary professor at Kangwon National University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, he began his destined journey with Cordyceps upon its first discovery at the university’s academic forest in 1984.

His academic achievements are remarkable. Among the 300 species of Cordyceps worldwide, he has researched and named over 170 species in collaboration with Professor Sung Ki-ho of Catholic Kwandong University. Notably, his paper published in the international journal ‘Studies in Mycology’ in 2007 redefined the classification system of Cordyceps and has been cited over 1,600 times. He became the official namer of 172 species, including naming the Chinese Cordyceps as ‘Ophiocordyceps sinensis.’

Director Sung’s true value lies in achieving industrialization beyond academic research. Driven by the belief that “research results must be industrialized,” he devoted himself to developing mass production technology for Cordyceps.

Initially, he attempted cultivation using silkworm pupae. In 1992, he traveled to China to investigate the distribution process of pupae but sought other methods after confirming unhygienic conditions. The breakthrough came with brown rice. Noting that rice absorbs the most water, he succeeded in developing mass cultivation technology for Cordyceps using brown rice in 1998. The liquid culture method and cross-breeding fruiting body formation technology revolutionized Cordyceps cultivation.

This technology has been registered with over 40 patents, enabling brown rice Cordyceps cultivation not only in Korea but also in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. ‘Sung Jae-mo Cordyceps’ is officially registered with the National Seed Management Office as a standard variety.

Industrialization achievements followed. Established in 1998, Mushtech has focused on the cultivation and commercialization of Cordyceps. Since 2007, Kirishima Shuzo in Japan has been producing three premium soju varieties using Sung Jae-mo Cordyceps.

In 2016, through joint research with the Rural Development Administration and Dong-A Pharmaceutical, it received recognition from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for ‘Level 2 physiological activity for immune function enhancement.’ Dong-A Pharmaceutical launched ‘Dongchungilgi,’ and Woongjin Living Health introduced ‘Woongjin Cordyceps,’ expanding the market. Currently, efforts are being made to expand volume by exporting ‘Sung Jae-mo Cordyceps Viro’ to Vietnam.

International recognition has also been achieved. At the Cordyceps International Forum held in China in 2016, Sung presented ‘Korean Cordyceps and Its Applications,’ receiving praise from a Cornell University professor in the U.S. as “the only person who has researched and commercialized Cordyceps.” He also contributed to molecular biology research on Cordyceps through joint research with Oregon State University.

Currently, Mushtech is targeting domestic and international markets by producing Sung Jae-mo Cordyceps fresh, dried, and powdered products, as well as ‘Sung Jae-mo Cordyceps Hwa,’ manufactured in collaboration with Seoul F&B Co., Ltd.

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