A tale of Jeju citrus

Jeju islanders call the yellow citrus fruit "hagyul" (summer tangerine) as farmers harvest it during summertime from May to June. It has long been used by farmers as an ingredient for homemade summer drinks. / Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung

Citrus cocktail, farmers' favorite summer drink

By Kang Hyun-kyung

JEJU ― Those who visit Jeju Island around this time of year will easily discover big orange-colored citrus fruit on trees along the streets. They're similar to a grapefruit. The locals call them "hagyul" (summer tangerine).

Once the thick peel is removed, it looks just like an orange. Unlike oranges or tangerines, however, the flesh is less juicy and has a sour taste.

The citrus trees are so common on the island that people can find them almost everywhere. They are spotted in parks, small orchards of houses, farmlands and even in the compounds of hotels.

The citrus has been part of Jeju islanders' lives for a long time. The residents were raised seeing the trees near their homes, even before the island's signature tangerine trees were introduced there from Japan in the 1950s. The citrus trees are believed to be a foreign species that was introduced on the island a long time ago.

The citrus has recently captured attention from people outside the island.

"Demand for the fruit is higher than production," said tangerine farmer Kim Woo-jin.

He sells the citrus he grows on his farmland in Seogwipo City through an order-based online shopping mall. Many of his customers are mainlanders.

"Here on Jeju, the citrus trees are everywhere," the farmer said. "The citrus is much bigger and heavier than the average tangerine, so each hagyul tree produces a limited number of fruit. The relatively short production period from May to June is another reason that causes demand to outnumber the supply."

In the past, Kim's main products were tangerines and their varieties but he began to sell hagyul five years ago when some of his customers began to request them.

Kim earns extra income by selling the citrus but he said the earnings from the summer fruit are "not impressive."

"This is because of the limited production of the fruit. I do sell it for my customers as some of them keep asking me if they can get it. So, for me, selling hagyul is a kind of service that is provided to meet customer satisfaction," he said.

Due to the limited production, the farmer said, selling is based on a first-come first-served basis.

Farmers began to pick the fruit in late April or early May after the spring rain which locals call "bracken rain" because the plant grows fast after the rain.

On Jeju Island, hagyul trees were planted near homes or buildings mainly for ornamental purposes.

But the citrus has long been a must-have item for local farmers. After hours of labor, farmers would pick the fruit and make refreshing drinks such as hagyul-ade or mix it with other drinks to make cocktails.

Letters and funny drawings are seen on the peels of the citrus fruit placed on a wooden sign near the front gate of Hueree Natural Park on Jeju Island on May 1. / Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyung

While the hagyul has long been part of Jeju farmers' diet, people outside the island have only recently started to consume it.

The popularity of the citrus fruit began after hagyul-based jams, drinks and sauce recipes appeared on TV five or six years ago.

On Jeju, Yang Nam-hee, another citrus farmer based in the western part of Seogwipo City, said the fruit is popular among health workers.

"Some of my loyal customers work at clinics or hospitals. I don't know why healthcare workers prefer it over other fruit, though," she said.

Her farm has 150 citrus trees. The Jeju native has sold the fruit for 30 years.
"Selling the citrus fruit itself doesn't make a big difference to my earnings. So I diversified my farm business and have sold its seedlings," she said.

Yang said selling seedlings of the citrus tree is a lucrative business as demand for the tree is high. "People plant the trees in their small orchards or outside buildings for decorative purposes," she said, boasting that her customer base is wide. "Catholic nuns are some of my customers and they purchase hagyul to make jams. They sell them during charity bazaars. One of my relatives is a Buddhist monk. He creates Buddhist paintings and would spend two to three months at each temple for painting projects. Thanks to him, we came to have many Buddhist customers."

Kim Ji-soon, a chef and Jeju food expert, said citrus is used widely in various Jeju foods, not only jams and citrus cocktails.

"Jeju islanders have long used the citrus for their food," she said. "Among others, its sour taste makes it a perfect ingredient for sauces, so people here make a sour sauce with soy sauce and hagyul juice. They eat cooked fish by dipping slices of fish into the sauce. Some also use the citrus when making salad dressings."

The islanders' wide use of the fruit gives Jeju food a unique flavor. Kim said Jeju food uses lots of natural ingredients with less spicy red pepper powder and this characteristic makes it healthy.