Kwang was 23 when his grandmother passed away. She had lived with his family since he was born. Since Kwang was the oldest son in his family he shared a room with his grandmother. This may sound strange by western standards, but it is very much the norm here. For Chuseok we went to go visit his grandmother's grave. She is buried in a small village near Jinhae where winding roads bring you to a small farming community. We hiked up a small path with groves of persimmon trees lining both sides.
Looking down hill from her grave this is the scene. It's quite beautiful. When we arrived two frogs were hanging out around the grave. Korean Buddists believe that frogs protect the deceased so we made sure to give them some of the food we had brought in honor of his grandmother. There were many chestnut trees around the grave that were heavy with spiky fruit. Inside the fruit is the chestnut. Koreans love chestnuts and not only roast them, but also put them in things like baked goods. I'm still not a fan quite yet as I've mistook them many times to be a nice chunk of apple only to find a starchy chestnut in my danish.
I love persimmons, but had never seen an actual persimmon tree before. Here's what the persimmons look like before they are ripe. I wonder if I could make persimmon jam...hmmmm.
Jennie! Persimmon Jam, what a great idea. Did I tell you I made some peach ginger jam this summer? It is my jam of choice w/ peanut butter. Thanks for the inspiration. While we were in Italy some one called persimmons "Sperm of the gods".
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