There are drinks to have during the hot summer in Korea: Plum and Bokbunja (raspberry). Having ice floating on them would make these excellent drinks of sweet and sour tastes even more perfect. As such, Plum and Bokbunja are another food to survive the summer in Korea. Also used as the ingredients of the two magical drinks that restore energy in the summer. Let’s immerse ourselves in the unique taste of green plum and dark red bokbunja.

#Raw material of health functional food, plum
Plums from Suncheon, Jeollanam-do were exported to Europe for the first time in 2021. Totaling 95 tons, the exports will be supplied to Stragen Pharma SA, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, and will be used as a raw ingredient for Leviker, a liver health functional food. Prior to this, 35 tons of pickled Plums were exported to Stragen in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do to be used as the raw ingredient for making liver health functional food. As such, plum is rich in substances that improve liver function and contains citric acid, which helps relieve body fatigue by decomposing lactic acid. Thanks to these effects, plum is considered a summer nourishing tonic in Korea and is also called a natural digestive medicine as it is rich in organic acids. This is why Korean restaurants serve plum tea as a dessert.

plum is a spherical nucleus fruit weighing 12-20g. It has a strong sour taste. so it is not really eaten raw. plum is thus usually made into plum extract, by mixing plum and sugar in a 1:1 ratio and then aging the plum for 100 days. This plum extract can be diluted into water at a ratio of 4:1 to 6:1 according to your taste to eat. Here, adding the extract to warm water makes plum tea and adding it to liquor instead of water makes plum liqiuor. Plum is also used as an ingredient to further enhance the sweet and sour taste by mixing with Korean sauces such as Gochujang or Doenjang. In addition to plum extract, plum is processed and consumed in various ways such as plum syrup, pickled plum, etc. plum is harvested about 90 days after it blossoms. The plum fields in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do in March, when white plum blossoms bloom, present the most magnificent view as if covered with white clouds. Gwangyang Maesil (Plum) Blossom Festival is also the earliest flower festival held during a year with a reputation as a flower festival Koreans love.

#Dark red Korean raspberry, bokbunja
Bokbunja is a raspberry produced in Korea. It has a shape similar to raspberries but is less sweet and acidic than raspberries. Bokbunja means ‘fruit that overturns Korean chamber potty’. According to Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, the largest bokbunja producer in Korea, the meaning is derived from a story that once upon a time, when an old couple diligently fed bokbunja to their weak son, he became firmer, and his urine became healthy enough to even overturn the Korean chamber potty. Bokbunja has various efficacies as it stimulates the secretion of testosterone, the male hormone, to help restore vitality, is great for fatigue recovery with rich content of vitamins A, B, and C, is rich in anthocyanin, an antioxidant component, and suppresses free radicals in the body.
Recently, the 'blood pressure control effect' of bokbunja extract was confirmed and led the fruit to be recognized as a functional ingredient of health functional food by the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. If bokbunja extract is registered on the list of food ingredients with functional labeling, foods using bokbunja will be able to label its functionality in the future. As such, bokbunja is recognized as one of the best nourishing tonics that can be obtained from nature today. Like plum, bokbunja is mainly processed to eat, into extracts, liquor, vinegar, and juice for example. Delicious bokbunja extract can also be made at home by mixing bokbunja and sugar in a 1:1 ratio, crushing bokbunja finely, sealing it, and aging it for about 3 months. The popularity of bokbunja vinegar as a health food is also increasing. Jinnong Food's naturally fermented vinegar is famous and even has a higher value as it is made by an agricultural food master in Gochang. This place has developed and patented bokbunja balsamic salt. 
Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, occupies more than 50% of the cultivated area of ​​Korean bokbunja. Gochang is a clean area designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and its loess contains 21 times more mineral than ordinary soil. In addition, bokbunja grows in the wind, so the fruit is hard and has a high sugar content. As such, Gochang bokbunja has excellent quality.

#From Plum Syrup to Bokbunja Wine
The hometowns of Korean plum are Suncheon and Gwangyang. In 2021, Suncheon Plum especially signed an exclusive sales contract with the LA-based direct store of Wooltari Mall in the US and is exporting Hwangplumcheong, Plum Jelly, and Plum Hotteok(syrup-filled pancake) to the U.S.. Last year, 1,500 bottles of Hwangplumcheong and 40,000 of Plum Hotteok were exported to the U.S.. Suncheon N Plum Co., Ltd. is producing plum pills by drying only the flesh, which is individually packaged for easy portability.
Among plum in Gwangyang, the Hong Ssang Ri Maesil (plum) Family of Cheong Plum Farm is famous. Run by a plum master, there are various types such as plum gochujang, plum doenjang, plum jam, plum jelly and plum candy, plum concentrate, plum vinegar, and plum extract. In 2008, the farm was awarded the Million Dollar Export Tower. The Plum Kimchi from the Daap Meayul Farming Association is also distinctive, as a product that effuses the scent of plum by grinding whole plum in kimchi seasoning. Ganam Farm's Maesiljangajji (pickled green plum) is also a summer delicacy.
Bokbunja is mostly processed into liquor. Bokbunja liquor has the original dark red color of bokbunja and has a strong sweet taste. These bokbunja liquors are spreading all over the world. First, Bohae Bokbunjajoo of Bohae Brewery Co., Ltd. is the most well-known bokbunja liquor in the world beyond Korea. Characterized by a purple jar-shaped bottle, Bohae Bokbunjajoo invented the best taste by applying a constant temperature fermentation method. It was first released in 2004 and was selected as the liquor for dinner during the 2005 APEC Summit. Bohae Bokbunjajoo is exported to more than 20 countries, including the U.S., China, Germany, and the U.K.
Myungjak Bokbunja, the main product of Kooksundang Gochang Myungju Co., Ltd., was exported to the US last year. A premium-grade liquor made from first grade bokbunja, well-balanced sweetness and acidity. Myungjak Bokbunja won the grand prize in the Label Design Series category at the 2011 San Francisco Wine Competition with its wine bottle shaped like Cheomseongdae in Korea.
‘Sannaeul Bokbunjaju’ produced by Geochang Apple Horticulture Agricultural Cooperative was also first exported to the U.S. in 2021. It has a deep taste and aroma as it uses bokbunja grown in Geochang, Gyeongsangnam-do and is aged for over 3 months in a fermentation tank maintained at 25-30C. Baesangmyun Brewery Co., Ltd.'s Bokbunjaum also draws attention. The name Bokbunjaeum was given in the sense that it has such an excellent taste and aroma that it makes one say ‘um~~’ when it is consumed. Gochang LB Bokbunjaum also received liquor quality certification from the Korea Food Research Institute and was exported to the U.S. last year.