A hungry tiger was roaming the hills of a small village in search of food one very cold winter night. He came to the window of a village house, lit by lamp light. The tiger heard a mother trying to calm her crying baby, but even the threat of a fox and a bear outside the window would not quiet the baby. Then the mother told the baby there was a tiger outside the window, but even that would not quiet the child. "What a strange creature, this baby, that it's not even afraid of me" thought the tiger. This worried him, as he saw himself as the most ferocious animal in Korea. Then, the mother offered a dried persimmon to the baby. At once, the baby stopped crying. This worried the tiger, as he worried what kind of earthly creature a persimmon could be that it would make a baby stop crying. "It must be more powerful and ferocious than even me!" Just then, a thief, mistaking the tiger for a cow in the dark, jumped on the tiger's back. Both were very startled and the tiger began to run away with the thief still on his back, thinking the thief was the evil creature "persimmon." The tiger ran and ran, trying to throw the 'persimmon' off his back, but the thief held on tightly knowing that the moment he fell, the tiger would tear him to pieces. Finally, the thief was able to escape from the tiger's back by grabbing onto a low branch of a tree and climbing up to safety. Both were relieved and the tiger continued to run into the safety of the dark forest. Ever since, the tiger has feared persimmon."
Tigers disappeared from South Korea long ago, but the persimmon did not. We are in the thick of persimmon season here in Korea--the large, shiny and smooth red-ish, orange-ish fruits hanging off tree branches around every corner. According to the ancient Greeks, persimmons were the "fruit of the gods." In Buddhism, the persimmon is used as a symbol of transformation. I find persimmon trees to be especially pretty on Buddhist temple grounds, personally.
The first time I tried a dried persimmon, my tastebuds were not very pleased. In fact, I didn't take more than a few little nibbles before tossing it into the ocean off the docks in Busan. The texture is odd and mushy, the taste not very appetizing, and they are covered in a layer of something similar to powdered sugar. That was last winter, after I'd only been in Korea for about a month. I think I'll have to give them another try this winter, after spending a year here and having found a new and improved appreciation for the fruit.
Though, I'll start with raw persimmons. My vice principal just gave me a box full of HUGE and beautifully colored persimmons that she hand-picked over the weekend from her country home up in the mountains. I was also given three delicious persimmons by the husband-wife owners of a new local convenience store. All I bought was a small carton of milk and a bottle of water.
The kindness and generosity of Korean people is truly amazing and inspiring.
Here is a photo I took recently while walking through a temple on the outskirts of Jinju:
And, just for fun:
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