Poppy plants, left, and liquor infused with poppy are at a home in Samcheok, Gangwon, on May 22.KOREA COAST GUARD
The Korea Coast Guard on Friday said it arrested nearly 250 people between April and July for illegally growing narcotic poppies and cannabis — most of them older residents who claimed they didn't know the plants were illegal.
Poppy cultivation accounted for the most cases at 236, followed by cannabis at 13. Officers seized 29,438 poppy plants, 37 cannabis plants and 5.5 kilograms (12 pounds) of marijuana during the crackdown.
April to July is both the poppy flowering season and the cannabis harvest season.
All those arrested for poppy cultivation were residents in their 60s and 70s or older. Many denied any intent to break the law, claiming the seeds "blew in on the wind and bloomed naturally" or that they grew the plants as home remedies without realizing they were narcotics.
In Samcheok, Gangwon, for instance, coast guard officers discovered 270 narcotic poppies in a field on May 22, while inspecting crops. Inside the owner's house, they found three bottles of liquor made from the poppies. He claimed he grew the plants "to use as medicine" and said he "didn't know poppies were narcotics."
Narcotic poppies can have pain-relieving and sedative effects, and can also help treat symptoms of dysentery and diarrhea. As a result, residents of remote islands far from hospitals often covertly grow and consume poppies to treat ailments such as neuralgia, stomachaches and insomnia, according to the coast guard.
From left: Korea Coast Guard officers confiscate dried cannabis from a wine refrigerator at a home in Korea; The confiscated drugs are laid out.KOREA COAST GUARD
For the arrests, the coast guard said it relied heavily on tips and reports from the public, alongside patrols and on-the-ground inquiries. Those found growing fewer than 50 narcotic poppy plants without apparent intent are referred to a minor offense review committee and released with a warning rather than face prosecution. But if intent is proven, growing even a single poppy plant can result in charges under the Narcotics Control Act.
"Compared to the same period last year, when 310 people were arrested and 31,464 poppy plants were seized, arrests fell 23 percent and the volume seized fell 6 percent this year," a Korea Coast Guard official said. "This appears to reflect the effects of continued crackdowns and preventive education campaigns emphasizing that growing narcotic poppies is illegal."
For cannabis farming, the Pyeongtaek Coast Guard station recently detained a man in his 30s, who grew and consumed cannabis in an apartment and an officetel, a unit in a commercial-residential building, where he lived alone in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, from 2019 to 2025. Officers found 1.36 kilograms of cannabis along with cultivation equipment at his home.
"We will strengthen our crackdown on and prevention of not only illegal poppy and cannabis cultivation but also drug smuggling by sea and domestic distribution," a coast guard official said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
