Like I posted earlier, fall has definitely come to Korea. The mornings are getting more and more crisp, the leaves are now in full color, and the days are getting shorter. A few weeks ago, I was picking up some apples at the market when it dawned on me... there were apples at the market! Generally speaking, freshness is of utmost importance to the markets and they don't carry anything that isn't in season.
Later that night, in one of my daydream/random thought sessions, I was thinking that these apples have to be grown somewhere. A few Google searches later landed me some information about apple farms and farm experiences. After some more research I found out that there were farms in our immediate area, they offered apple picking, and they were going to have a festival! SCORE!
We set out Saturday morning for Yesan-gun, an area south of us, with lots of friends in tow. A little while later, we arrived at our destination. The orchards here don't look like what you would picture in your mind. Then again, the apple business didn't start flourishing until the mid-80s (from what I could gather on Google).
The festival was so much fun. They had the Three Korean Tenors (and other entertainment), traditional Korean basket-making, and hands on apple activities. The girls and I made pies, apple jam, and apple wine. We watched them make fresh apple-infused sausage and then throw it on the grill to serve up. We were treated to samples of apple wine and barbecue. Last but not least, we headed for the orchard to pick our apples. The day was just perfect and we had a fantastic time!
