KOREAN NET

September sees omija (schisandra or magnolia berry) ripen from green to red and is when the Mungyeong Omija Festival is held. Though the harvest is almost over, the berry remains in select places.

By Lee Kyoung Mi

Sweet and sour but salty and bitter at the same time, and even slightly spicy. Omija (schisandra or magnolia berry), which in Korean means "five flavors," has a provincial festival bearing its name.

A Korea.net writer on Sept. 13 headed to Dongno-myeon Township, quite a way to the nearest city of Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. As she got nearer to the venue of the Mungyeong Omija Festival, she saw huge signs that seemed to stretch endlessly like "Mungyeong omija: a healthy gift from nature" and "Dongno-myeon: special zone of Mungyeong omija."

Her anticipation over the event grew after recognizing just how famous the region was for omija.

The Joseon Dynasty medical text Dongeuibogam (Principles and Practices of Eastern Medicine) says omija's health benefits include restoring a lack of energy and enhancing kidney functions and eyesight. On the left are the berries piled high at the festival and on the right is an omija sculpture on Jeokseongyo Bridge over Geumcheon Stream of Dongno-myeon Township in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province.

Colored bright red, the festival venue featured freshly harvested omija awaiting sale. A sculpture on a bridge connecting both sides of Geumcheon Stream greeted visitors. The surrounding farms all had murals of the berry, making Dongno-myeong the town of omija.

About 1,500 tons of omija is produced every year in Mungyeong, making it the nation's largest producer of the berry with 45% of domestic output. President Yoon Suk Yeol for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) gave a gift set to the Buddhist community that included cheong (marmalade) made with Mungyeong omija.

"Omija has been a Mungyeong staple for 30 years and the festival marks its 20th anniversary," Mungyeong Mayor Shin Hyun-guk said in an open broadcast. "Nice mountains and water make Dongno-myeong the largest domestic producer of omija."

That explains why the festival is held in such a small rural city.

Omija is usually made into marmalade or tea rather than being eaten as a berry. The photos show how omija is washed with a machine, turned it into cheong (marmalade) and delivered to a parking lot for delivery to consumers.

The most popular section of the festival was that for washing and pickling omija. After someone bought omija and sugar, staff washed them on the spot and immediately made cheong, or fruit soaked in sweeteners aged for a long time before being used in tea or cooking.

Once the cheong is made, a jar holding it easily exceeds 10 kg. Just when people worried over how to carry the jars in the heat, droves of automated carts appeared to bring both the jars and their buyers to the parking lot.

The Korea.net reporter bought nothing but was touched by this extra service from staff.

A visitor buys omija slush at a sales booth for food products containing the berry such as cheong (marmalade), makgeolli (milky rice wine) and ade.

Visitors also flocked to Mungyeong Omija Taste Experiential Center, which had 11 foods using omija such as gimbap (seaweed rice roll), naengchae (chilled vegetables), kodari gangjeong (deep-fried and braised pollack) and bingsu (shaved ice). Booths there sold not only omija but also the city's specialties such as apples and mushrooms, plus a floating lounge allowed visitors to dip their feet into the township's clean stream.

The table below contains ratings of the festival by the Korea.net reporter:

km137426@korea.kr