Visual History of Korea
Jeju citrus fruit variety delivers juicy, sweet and sour oranges

Long before Jeju Island became a territory controlled by the Goryeo Empire in 1105 CE, the Tamra Kingdom island was known for its citrus fruits.

When Tamra residents on Jeju Island, who were forced to deliver citrus fruits to the Joseon King in capital Seoul during the Joseon period(1392 to 1910), were not always able to meet the growing demand, the issue was elevated to the Kingdom's national policy.

"The Joseon government nationalized citrus farms to secure harvests and managed 36 citrus orchards for consistent supply of the fruits to the capital city, through early 1900's" according to Dr. Song Sang-churl, the head researcher at the Jeju Agricultural Technology Institute.

Researchers have identified at least 126 variants of Jeju citrus fruits in Jeju Island over the years, and that number is expected to grow.

"At least two government research farms and several private farms are efforting to develop even tastier citrus fruits from Jeju." said the citrus research team leader Song.

The most dominant Jeju citrus fruit today is the seedless Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges which are easy to peel.

The origin of the popular Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges are from 1911, when French Catholic Priest Esmile J. Touguet received 14 Mandarin Orange trees from Japan in reciprocity for sending samples of Jeju King Cherry Blossom trees to his Catholic colleague in Japan earlier in 1908.

The seedless Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges variant is the most popular Jeju citrus fruit today, as it is in many parts of the world. Hands down, the Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges are the most popular citrus fruit in Korea.

"Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges used to be exported to the U.S., but they are mostly exported to countries which are closer to Korea such as Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia now." according to the Jeju Agricultural Technology Institute.

Amount of water and Sun exposure has everything to do with the quality and taste of citrus fruits.

The world famous California Oranges get their sweet and sour tastes from Southern California's scorching Sun, and absence of frequent rain.

On the other side of the continental US, considerably wet Florida produces oranges that are well known for being juicy, and ideal for making orange juice.

Jeju Island gets an average annual precipitation of about 1,800 mm, which is not the best climate for growing sweet citrus fruits.

Clever farmers in Jeju have devised modern technology to improve the taste of the Jeju citrus fruits.

Tyvek liner which breathes but works as a moisture barrier, is used as groundcovers under Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Orange orchards. By controlling the amount of water reaching the roots, the citrus orchards are able to produce sweeter tasting Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges.

The secondary benefit of the white Tyvek covering the ground is the Gam-Gyul Oranges benefitting from sunlight reflected from the groundcover.

The original 1911 Mandarin Orange tree that was planted in front of a Seogwipo Catholic Church in Jeju died in April 2019, but a tree related to the original tree which is over 60 years old still bears seedless Mandarin Oranges near the original citrus grove.

The pavement covering the ground around the roots of the original Mandarin Orange tree at the church likely caused the deteriorating health and the death of the original 1911 Mandarin Orange tree according to tree experts. "Citrus trees can live a very long time, but the roots need room to breathe," said Dr. Song who researches citrus trees.

While there are many other citrus fruit variants in Jeju Island, which shares a similar climate with the Los Angeles Basin's Mediterranean climate, found in only 3% of the world's lands, one of the most prevalent citrus trees is called Ha-Gyul, meaning “Summer Orange”. Hagyul is so-named because it fully ripens in the summer months. The hagyul looks like a grapefruit but tastes more like a lemon.

The oldest Jeju citrus tree, a Jin-Gyul variety, is a group of three trees over 400 years old located in a Kang family yard, which is still occupied by the 13th generation of the family whose founding grandfather Kang Gye-Nam(1574 - 1632), planted the citrus trees at the house that he built in Ae-wol district in Jeju Island. Jin-Gyul citrus peel is used as a raw material in Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM).

Kang Sung-yo, and his wife Park Young-ok, both 78, live in the house that still shows the traditional Korean ceiling beams, the house which has been occupied by the same Kang family for more than four centuries. Kang and Park were born in the same village in Jeju but met in Seoul in 1963 while they were studying at the capital city. After a 40-year career in business administration in Seoul, the retired couple returned to the Kang family house.

Among several Jeju citrus fruit varieties, Hallabong tastes like California Oranges. Hallabong enjoys a huge following and popularity in Korea today. Named after the shape of Hallasan, it is grown in greenhouses.

New oranges such as Red-Hyang, CheonHyeHyang, and Hallabong varieties differentiate themselves from the popular Jeju Gam-Gyul Mandarin Oranges with their larger size, and more intense taste.

Mrs. Yi In-ja, whose family moved to Jeju in 1986 due to her husband's failing health, has been farming Hallabong for 10 years. She grows her 350 Hallabong groves in a Vinyl House.

The main benefit of an enclosed orchard in the greenhouse is to be able to control the amount of water which Hallabong trees receive.

"My secret to producing 23 tons of Hallabong this year is to have no weeds on the ground, and withholding water for two months from November, to make my Hallabong taste sweeter. After harvest, I'm planning to shower my trees with 600 bags of fertilizers and calcium vitamins to help them recover and get ready for the next season," said Yi.

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