Spring — Wild Vegetables, Flowers, and Hills
Spring Arrives from the Ground Up In most parts of Europe and North America, spring arrives with colors. Green returns to grey fields, and snow recedes upwards. In rural Korea, spring arrives with taste. Before forsythias and azaleas burst into full bloom, and even before most trees sprout their leaves, the hillsides are already offering sustenance. This is the first thing that surprises foreigners visiting the Korean countryside in March and April: it’s the foraging culture. In the West, foraging for wild plants has become a specialized activity in recent years. It’s pursued by chefs, survivalists, and enthusiasts who take courses to learn what’s safe and unsafe. In rural Korea, it’s simply what people do in spring. Grandmothers who have done it for 60 years. Children learning by following them. Knowledge of which plants grow where, at what altitude, and in what kind of soil is passed down as naturally as recipes. ...