Chilgok County Turns Discarded Oriental Melons into Korea's First 'Vegan Leather'

Development of Eco-Friendly Materials Using Oriental Melon Byproducts
Boosting Farm Income and Creating New Industries

Oriental melons that were previously discarded due to low marketability have been reborn as eco-friendly vegan leather.

Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province has succeeded for the first time in Korea in developing and commercializing plant-based leather using oriental melon byproducts, opening up new possibilities for agricultural byproducts.

Kim Jaewook, Chilgok County Governor, and employees of the Chilgok County Agricultural Technology Center are holding eco-friendly leather (vegan leather) products made from oriental melon byproducts, developed for the first time in Korea.
[Photo by Chilgok County]

A wallet made of melona leather developed by Chilgok County. It is Korea's first eco-friendly leather made by utilizing melona by-products. [Photo by Chilgok County]

Chilgok County developed eco-friendly leather by drying and powdering oriental melon peels and combining them with plant-based fabric.

The research began in 2024 and achieved successful fabric production in the same year. The county also collaborated with eco-friendly fashion brands to unveil prototypes such as bags, card wallets, and business card holders.

In 2026, Chilgok County obtained domestic vegan product certification and increased the oriental melon content to 10%. Related products recorded 1 million views on social media and reached their crowdfunding goals ahead of schedule, demonstrating clear market potential.

Going forward, Chilgok County plans to raise the oriental melon content to the international standard of 22% and expand its use into eco-friendly industrial materials, such as automotive interior components, thereby accelerating industrialization.

Kim Jaewook, Governor of Chilgok County, stated, "Even discarded agricultural products can become a new industry when combined with technology and ideas," adding, "We will enhance the added value of agricultural byproducts to grow both farm income and the local economy."

This innovative approach that transforms agricultural waste into a future industry is a symbolic example demonstrating that technology and innovation are the key drivers of competitiveness in agriculture.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.