A rendering of Pulmuone's land-based seaweed aquaculture R&D Center at the Saemangeum industrial complex in North Jeolla Province (Pulmuone) Pulmuone said Tuesday it has broken ground on South Korea's first land-based seaweed aquaculture R&D center in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, as it pushes to commercialize next-generation seaweed farming technologies.The facility will serve as a test bed for validating land-based seaweed cultivation technologies and developing commercial production models.The first phase will establish core infrastructure, including cultivation facilities, seawater treatment systems and office space. A second phase, to be launched after demonstration trials, will expand cultivation capacity and add warehouses, processing facilities and dedicated R&D buildings.The expansion will also include a bioreactor system and what Pulmuone describes as the nation's largest cultivation tank infrastructure, enabling precise control of temperature, light and nutrient conditions.Pulmuone plans to use the center as a hub for technology standardization and regional cooperation, sharing cultivation models with local governments and fishing communities to accelerate adoption of land-based seaweed farming.Under the initiative, seaweed produced at nearby cultivation sites using the company's technology will be purchased by Pulmuone for commercial use, creating a supply chain designed to provide stable income for local communities while securing raw materials for the company.The company ultimately aims to build a land-based seaweed farming ecosystem centered on Saemangeum and expand the model to other coastal regions.Pulmuone said the project could contribute to food security, marine ecosystem restoration and carbon-reduction efforts linked to climate change."The Saemangeum R&D center marks an important milestone in validating and commercializing land-based seaweed cultivation technologies," said Ahn Deok-jun, head of Pulmuone's Food Tech Business Division."Leveraging our food-tech capabilities, we aim to establish a sustainable fisheries model and help foster a globally competitive future seafood industry." A rendering of the bioreactor system based on cultivation tanks to be installed at the land-based seaweed cultivation facility within Pulmuone's seaweed land-based aquaculture R&D Center at the Saemangeum industrial complex in North Jeolla Province (Pulmuone)