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It is not clear when chestnut trees were first planted in Korea. However, chestnuts estimated to be 2000 years old have been found in tombs of the Nak-rang era. Also, 'chestnuts the size of pears grown in Ma-han' are mentioned in 'Samguk-ji' (Romance of the Three Kingdoms Period), a book written during the Jin era, 1700 years ago. Huhansu, a book dating back to the Sung Dynasty of China 1550 years ago, says people of the Mahan Kingdom in Korea farmed, raised silkworms, manufactured clothing materials, and produced pear-sized chestnuts. Two other
books, 'Suso' authored by Wijing and 'Buksa' authored by Yeongsu Lee during the Tang Dynasty, also say large chestnuts were grown in the Baekje Kingdom of Korea.
The original home of chestnuts is said to be China and Europe. However, they are now grown in a number of countries. In all, there are about thirteen varieties, but largely, about five dominate: the Korean, Chinese, Japanese, European and American.

In the past, chestnuts were considered very important as a food source in Korea. 'Chosun Wang-jo shillok' (Annals of the Chosun Dynasty) records the following: "as insects have ruined the rice crop, we must gather chestnuts and acorns to make preparations against a bad year... Since people must rely on chestnuts and acorns during famine, we must ban burnings of mountains and hills." It is evident that chestnuts were often the mainstay of the Korean diet during hard times.
According to 'Sanlim-Kyongje' (Forest Economics), 'Tongsok-Sanlim-Chongsuh' (General Text on Forests), and 'Imwon-Sipyulkji' ( Sixteen Narratives on Forests), chestnuts were not only sources of nutrition, but also used in traditional memorial services. Moreover, chestnut trees were used to make mortuary tablets and tools used in memorial services. Used in this manner, chestnuts and chestnut trees played important roles in the lives of Koreans. As seen from the various classics, chestnuts were easily found and eaten both by the general public and by the royalty.
If you look at parts of 'Chosun Wang-jo shillok' of the period of King Sukjong, you can find records that 'soldiers inflicted injury on the people by cutting down all the chestnut trees growing in the villages.' It seems that people planted many chestnut trees near their homes. The reason chestnuts were used in such diverse ways and people developed so many ways of storing and cooking them must be related to the fact that chestnuts were very common. 'Chosun-Imya Juyo-busanmul,' a book published by the Japanese Governor-General of
Korea recorded crop estimates of products such as pine nuts, ginkgoes, and shitake mushrooms. The crop estimates of the nuts from a variety of black oaks were also recorded. As one of them, we can assume that the number of chestnuts harvested was considerable.
Though chestnuts in Korea were originally consumed as a staple food, their value as a commodity has significantly increased as Koreans developed ways to produce new and improved varieties over a long period.