Native species are a heritage of taste that has been preserved with tears over a long period of time. They are life forms that have endured in this land, adapting to our soil, climate, and taste, and they are a history that has been engraved with the joys and sorrows of life that have been passed down from generation to generation. People who have steadfastly protected native species even as their lives and environments have changed. Let’s meet their native dining tables. ■ People who protect native Gastrodia elata - Deogyusan, located in the center of Baekdudaegan, Anseong-myeon, Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do. For the people of Anseong-myeon, Muju-gun, who have settled at the foot of the mountain at an altitude of 400 meters, native Gastrodia elata has been the pillar that has supported their lives for generations. Native Gastrodia elata is a medicinal herb that is also recorded in the Donguibogam, and the villagers made a living by digging Gastrodia elata in Deogyusan until a few decades ago. As the seeds of native Gastrodia elata have dried up due to overfishing, they have been growing native Gastrodia elata as a field crop for the past 30 years. Farming Gastrodia elata is no easy feat. The Gastrodia elata, which grows in high mountains, is a tuber that grows underground parasitically on oak trees without leaves and cannot photosynthesize. As a result, its cultivation method is unique. After burying oak trees cut to a certain size throughout the field, mushroom fungus and seed hemp are placed between the trees, but pesticides cannot be used even once for fear of killing the mushroom fungus. They only look up at the sky, and when it rains, they dig a drainage ditch, and when the weather is hot or cold, they cover the plants with rice straw, and they have to wait for two years. Since the crops can only be checked by digging up the ground when harvesting, it is farming that cannot be done without emptying one’s mind. However, the reason they do not give up is because for the villagers, the native Gastrodia elata is the sweat and tears of their ancestors, and if they give up, that tradition could end. The only joy from the hard farming is the native Gastrodia elata dishes that become abundant after becoming field crops. The native Gastrodia elata pork belly, which is grilled and eaten with pork belly, is a refreshing dish that melts away the hardships of harvest. Native Gastrodia elata raw vegetables and pickled vegetables are delicacies that can only be enjoyed during the harvest season. Native Gastrodia elata cannot be stored for a long time even in the refrigerator, so it can only be eaten raw for two weeks after harvest. There is no better health food when boiled with precious mushrooms, another native species provided by the bountiful Deogyusan Mountain, like a mother’s bosom. Meet the native Gastrodia elata table prepared with the tenacity of farmers who protect native Gastrodia elata and the devotion of women. ■ Her field is the ark of native species – Tapri, a deep mountain village between Sunchang and Imsil, Ingye-myeon, Sunchang-gun, Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province. There is a female farmer who has been farming native species for over 30 years in this village. Ms. Deukja (54 years old). Ms. Deukja, who had been weak since childhood, says that she became healthy in body and mind after marrying into a remote village and eating native crops. Her two children also grew up well eating native species. The power of native species that she experienced firsthand. Her field, which is about 6,000 pyeong, is like the ark of native species. There are also various crops grown purely for the purpose of obtaining native seeds. Cotton, gourds, and sesame, which are hard to find these days. Just as crooked pine trees protect the ancestral mountain, women in the mountains protect the native seeds that are disappearing. The native meals she prepares are also richly filled with the lives of those who have lived in this land. Perilla and toran soup made with native perilla leaves given to her by her grandmother who has now passed away and native toran passed down to her mother-in-law. It is a precious food that people in this region have eaten for generations during holidays, and it is said that in the past, each household covered the seeds with rice husks and passed them down like a ancestral rite jar. Ms. Deukja collected over 200 types of native seeds with such special stories. Her 94-year-old mother-in-law and her husband, who secretly praised her daughter-in-law for living a long life thanks to healthy native foods, were a great help. The husband grumbled that organic farming was too hard and that he was going to die, but he bought his wife a field with the money he earned as a heavy equipment operator. Ms. Deukja cooks a bowl of boiled native O-gol chicken with various native beans such as Seoritae and Kangnangkong, along with the native O-gol chicken that she hatched and raised herself for her husband. It is an expression of love and gratitude that speaks louder than words. For her mother-in-law, she prepares native sweet potatoes, which are hard to find these days, and for after-meal snacks, native fruits of various shapes and colors appear. Let’s take a look at a feast of native foods prepared by a mountain woman. ■ The Return of the ‘Native Loach’ - Jiphyeon-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do A well-maintained farming village in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do. What flavor has been lost amidst this development? Mr. Cho Gyu-man (70 years old) has been cultivating native loaches in an eco-friendly way in the rice paddies of this village for the past 8 years. The native loach is similar to the loach we commonly know, but it is a separate species, and if you look closely, its shape and taste are different. When you think of chueotang, you think of loach first, but the native loach has a lighter and deeper flavor. The native loach’s habitat is in places with a lot of mud and aquatic plants, such as irrigation channels and small streams between rice paddies. However, when the irrigation channels were renovated with cement in the 1980s along with the land readjustment, it disappeared from the wild. As a result, imported products now account for 95% of the market. That is why the return of the native loach is very welcome to the villagers. When Jo Gyu-man visits his neighbors with the native loach, cheers erupt. Kim Jeong-suk (80 years old), a renowned food expert in this village, picks pumpkin leaves, skillfully prepares the native loach, and then runs straight to the field. This is because the native loach tastes good only when the savory native Joseonpa, which has been raised by receiving seeds for 60 years since getting married at the age of 20, is added. The men of the village are excited to put the loach in green onions and grill it. I always miss the taste of the memories of catching and grilling loach with my friends as a child. In Yangpyeong, it is characteristic to boil the loach soup by putting the native loach whole in a broth with red pepper paste and soybean paste. It is said that in the past when food was scarce, the people of this village relieved fatigue with the spicy loach stew and gained the strength to get through the winter without any problems. The native loach stew, which is salty and spicy with soy sauce and red pepper powder, was a rice thief that children also loved. Let's meet the native loach table that is even more special because of the memories. ※ This video is [Korean's Table - Native Species Passed Down for Generations, Embracing the Taste of Time] that aired on November 7, 2024. #Cheonma #Loach #NativeTable #KoreanTable #Cooking ✔KBS Documentary KBS Official YouTube Channel [KBS Documentary] 🔔Subscribe👍Like➡️ / @kbsdocumentary 📝Contact: [email protected] Copyright ⓒ KBS. All rights reserved. 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