Around this time last year some friends and I took a Saturday to visit the country side of Korea and attend an apple festival. This would be the third apple festival we’d visited in two years, searching for a taste of home, and we finally found it in this one.
As our bus dropped us off at the orchard we walked through countless rows of beautifully ripe red apples. In a scene that it rare in Korea, we were immediately surrounded by westerners, all of whom were decked out in their best fall plaids. It was as if we stepped out of Korea and into small-town Americana.
Our first stop after arriving at the festival was to join in a pie baking class. The ingredients were set out and we were ready to get to baking. There was an instructor who was trying to lead the class, however it seemed that they seemed to neglect the fact that most of the people in the room had made many an apple pie in seasons past. We rolled the dough, filled our pies, cut shapes into the tops, and pinched the sides like pros. When we were finished we put our names on the dish so they could be distinguished when they were ready to be picked up.
While the pies baked in the ovens we got to go apple picking. It was so fun getting to wander the rows of apples in search of the best ones to take home. Once we’d filled our baskets, we went back to pick up our pies and listen to music. The lead singer of the band that was playing happened to be from Chicago as well. It was the first time I’d met a fellow Chicagoan since the Cubs had won the World Series, and it was wonderful to finally be around someone who understood and shared the same excitement and pride for our home team.
The apple orchard we were visiting also happened to be a winery and offered tours showing us how the apples were processed and stored before giving us a tasting of the sweet wine. We all bought a bottle and went back outside to where the band was, listening to music, drinking wine, and eating apple pie until it was time to go back home to Incheon. It was the perfect fall day.
. . .
As signs of spring are starting to appear in Korea, I’ve been reflecting on weekend trips taken last year and starting to plan what I hope to do this spring. I’ve been revisiting photos of various getaways and one in particular that stands out was the weekend spent in a southern city of Korea, called Jinhae, for their famous cherry blossom festival.
Once we had finished eating and walked through all of the tent lined streets, we started exploring to find the river we’d all spent the week dreaming about via Pinterest and Instagram. Seeing as there really were thousands of people at this festival it wasn’t terribly difficult to find. All we had to do was follow the masses in hopes of making our way to the front of the line to take a photo of the brightly colored river umbrellaed by blossoming pink and white trees.
We spent hours walking along the river and eventually made it to a coffee shop around dusk for a quick rest and caffeine fix. As the sun set we ventured back out into the crowds and found that the paths had been lit up by arches wrapped in white lights making the small town seem just a bit more magical.
Always in search of an enticing weekend get away, when a friend mentioned this festival last winter I was equal parts gung-ho and yet seriously questioning my desire to spend the weekend in a teeny tiny town surrounded by snow. Ultimately I decided that if nothing else it would be an adventure, and I purchased my ticket.
Fall in Korea is beyond gorgeous. Even being from a place with a nice fall season, I was mesmerized by the colors on the trees in this country. Everything becomes painted with shades of orange, red, and yellow and seems to stay that way for months. Set against the backdrop of mountains and blue skies it makes for a dreamy walk to work each day. That said, with all of its beauty Korea unfortunately lacks in the customary autumn festivities. There isn’t any apple picking or hot apple cider. Starbucks doesn’t serve pumpkin spice lattes. Halloween is not celebrated. There is no pumpkin carving or scary movie marathons on TV. While the weather is beautiful the traditional feeling of fall can be hard to come by.
We made it to the festival expecting to see stands selling apple cinnamon baked goods, apple cider, apple wine, and of course miles of red spotted orchards to go apple picking. What we discovered is that even in its best efforts, Korea’s idea of an apple festival is unfortunately quite lacking in the standard festivities we are used to from the United States. Ironically, the festival was less about apple themed festivities and more about apples themselves. SO MANY APPLES.
various types of tea, and even a little apple juice. It turned out there weren’t any apple orchards for picking bundles of apples, or at least not that we could find, but at that point we were happy just to be taking home our apple pies.
bbm travels 