Hong Ssang-ri, a Farmer Who Spreads Happiness Filled with the Fragrance of Plum Blossoms

Green Plums, Turning Ordinary Food into Medicine

After beginning her green plum farming, Hong read several papers and articles related to herbal medicine and traditional fermented foods as she wanted to develop green plum-based products.

“My father-in-law believed that green plum syrup was a cure-all. One day, I found that a tin pail was shiny because it had held green plums. This is when I decided to become a “cleaner” by detoxing people using the green plums.”

Hong says toxins build up in the body because people only eat foods that please one’s palate. She sticks to her principle of organic farming, believing that healthy food can cure diseases. She follows the philosophy of farming with utmost care, much like creating an artwork, as farming is about producing foods crucial to one’s health.

Since she began producing green plum products in earnest in 1994, Hong received several awards such as the Traditional Food Master’s Award, the Tin Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit and the Presidential Award. She achieved all this while in her 50s and lives a life of sharing, since she did not give up growing green plums for the past 30 years even amid her fight against illness. “Green plums are my life. I recovered my health thanks to green plums, and they changed my life several times. I hope more people will eat green plums, detox their bodies and become healthier.”

Hong is now building beautiful stone walls so that visitors can enjoy pleasant strolls along the stone walls. Her heart of gold is full of beautiful plum blossoms.

Cheongmaesil Farm is considered a model green plum farm in Korea. What do you think is the strength of your farm?

I began growing green plum trees the year after I got married, so I had been preparing for green plum farming for 30 years. And over the last 20 years, I have made green plum syrup every year, which is now mature and of great quality. I think high quality yet good value products that are made with utmost care cannot be found elsewhere, this has become our competitive edge. In particular, at Cheongmaesil Farm we both farm and manufacture our own products, which are made using the green plums we grow, this also is our strength. I think I was able to develop Cheongmaesil Farm into what it is now since I am a farmer as well as a business person. I believe the future of our farm depends on how well we protect and preserve nature. I grow green plum trees as if they are artwork. I hope that Cheongmaesil Farm will be maintained for another 100 years.

I heard that Cheongmaesil Farm uses unique methods to make its products. What are the differences in your method?

In order to make products of great quality, you need to grow green plums well, then preserve them well to enhance their efficacy. I simmer green plums for three days to remove moisture, or add salt or sweetener to green plums. This is to increase the preservability of green plum products. The most popular item is green plum syrup, which is made by mixing green plums and a sweetener at a 1:1 ratio. For this we use fructooligosaccharide, which is made by fermentation, even though it is more expensive than sugar. Green plum syrup made with fructooligosaccharide is less sweet and has a gentle flavor. Further, we make green plum syrup using earthen pots, which is the traditional method of maturing green plum syrup. I traveled across the country to buy earthen pots, not new ones but old pots that were made prior to 1930s. Earthen pots made in the past have breathing holes (unlike pots of today) probably because the clay and glaze used are different. Now I have about 2,500 pots, and they have become a symbol of Cheongmaesil Farm.

You started planting green plum trees 30 years ago, saying that the green plum flowers would attract tourists. What do you think is the value of plum blossoms as a cultural tourism content?

Every year, over one million people visit Gwangyang International Maehwa Festival. When Japan’s NHK or media outlets visited, they were surprised and said they have never seen a place like this where an individual could develop a vast area that is visited by one million people annually. In fact, many tourists visit our farm throughout the year, particularly in the spring when the plum blossoms bloom. Some come to hear my story about growing green plum trees. We also have many group tourists. Plum blossoms have become Gwangyang’s representative tour product. Plum blossoms have raised the awareness of Gwangyang, not to mention Cheongmaesil Farm. I think plum blossoms themselves have significance as a cultural tourism content.