On the hunt for wild ginseng

Seo Min-seok displays a wild ginseng collection in his Daegu city, South Korea, home. “Wild ginseng raised my children, bought my house, built my business,” he says. “He’s like a father to me. He paid my way.”  (Matt Douma / For The Times)

Seo Min-seok displays a handful of hard-to-come-by wild mountain ginseng seeds.  (Matt Douma / For The Times)

Crossing steep slopes, Seo Min-seok, who is known as a shimmani, or “mountain ginseng person,” scans the forest floor for ginseng.  (Matt Douma / For The Times)

Too nervous to unearth the prized ginseng root himself, Seo Min-seok looks on as fellow shimmani Choi Won-sik carefully removes the find. The slightest damage to the root system will lessen market value.  (Matt Douma / For The Times)

Seo Min-seok holds a wild mountain ginseng plant that he says is worth about $500.  (Matt Douma / For The Times)

Before the hunt, the wild ginseng hunters kneel before an altar of offerings to seek permission from the mountain god to enter the forest.  (Matt Douma / For The Times)