laver Story

The first literature recordings was under king Chungryul of Goryeo

which is ’Samgungnyusa’ written by monk Ilyeon, which shows that laver was eaten since the Silla Dynasty.
Also, according to ’Ben Cao Gang Mu’ the Compendium of Materia Medica, compiled during the Ming Dynasty, ’Laver is harvested from the deep seas of Silla, where people tie a straw rope around their waist and go down to the deep waters. After April, because large fish come and damage the area, it cannot be harvested.’

However, while in ’Samgungnyusa’ it says that laver has been eaten since Silla, the first time laver appears in literature is in ’Gyeongsang Jiriji’; here it says that laver has been eaten in the early years of the Chosun Dynasty in Hadong, Gyeongnam, and in ’Dong-guk Yeoji Seung-ram’ there are records that laver was harvested 400 years ago in Gwangyang, Jeonnam.

The history of the name ’Gim’ is said to be from ’Kim Yeo Ik’ who, in the 1650s, introduced the harvesting method in Gwangyang, Jeonnam.
In 1960s the development of the artificial collection technology and the spreading of nets led to an increase in fish farming facilities and mass production of laver. In “Sea Vegetables“ written by Ofusa Tsuyoshi, there are records that laver was eaten in the early years of Kyoho during the Edo period.

Source: Namu Wiki