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The farmer teaching Mack about snail harvesting mucin.
Snail Farming In Korea
Snail Farming In Korea
By Mack Rock
This month I visited a snail farm in Korea. I thought the snail farm was going to look like a giant garden with snails walking around. However it did not, it was like apartments for the snails where many of them had roommates. These snails lived in a big greenhouse and they were kept in what looked like black boxes with dirt inside. This farmer had close to 50,000 Giant African Land Snails (Achatina fulica). Established in 1999, the Achatina Snailery farm has been open now for 35 years.
This farm was very interesting for me because I learned a lot of new things. The snails have mucin to protect their body from getting hurt or cut. Snails could walk on a knife and not get injured because of their mucin. The farmer recounted a time when he was burning something and a piece of plastic stuck to his face and burnt him badly. He said he started putting snail mucin on the burn and it disappeared without leaving a mark. Snail mucin works on almost everything like cuts and scabs he shared. Another thing he said was people who have joint pain can eat snail mucin and their joints would be better.
Giant African Land Snails are tiny when they are born and can grow to this size within a year. They can live for several years with proper care and are very interesting to watch.
Most of the mucin from the farm is given to hospitals and scientists like Seoul National University. This was nice to hear because the snail mucin could potentially cure cancer. They haven’t experimented on humans yet but they tried it on mice and it was proven to work on them. They have not tested it on humans because of the cost, but someday in the future, it could happen. He also sells these snails to schools to be dissected and he sells the snails to the kids to be their pets.
Being a snail farmer isn’t easy because feeding takes a whole day. He feeds the snails three things: calcium, soybean, and rice. He mixes and grinds the food into his special formula and then shovels the food into the snail compartments and they have a feast.
Every farmer has their way of gathering snail mucin but he says he is the most efficient at gathering the mucin without harming the snails. He says he has a secret method to extract the mucin. It takes 10kg of snails to get 1kg of mucin. Snails are good for your immune system so people who eat the snails typically have better immunities. While snail mucin is very good for your skin, it doesn’t taste good. So this farmer has a different shop that carries a special kind of snail that has almost no mucin on them.
It was an amazing experience to have visited this snail farm. Korea has been using snail mucin for burns, cosmetics, and health benefits for a long time. This was so informative because I did not know this small animal found in the backyard could be this useful. I hope this was eye-opening for you and I look forward to learning what other things snails may do for us in the future.
Snail mucin helps snails stick to the surface they climb on, even the top of their enclosures!
Giant African Land Snails can grow up to 4-5 inches tall and over 8 inches. The bottom of their body is called the "foot" and they use a continuous ripple motion to move around.
In some countries, such as the United States, the Giant African Land Snail is considered an "invasive species" due to the large amounts of vegetation they can consume. If you are considering one for a pet while here in Korea, make sure to be aware of the dietary needs, and their life span, and to ensure a proper home when/if your duty station changes.
About the Author
Mack Rock is a 15-year-old residing in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. He is fluent in both English and Korean and is a co-author of the Korean/English education book, '진짜 미국 영단어 그림 사전' (Real American English Picture Dictionary). In addition to his work in entertainment and education, Mack enjoys hobbies such as coin collecting, metal detecting, unicycling, performing magic tricks, and playing video games.
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