Above title is a common statement made by Korean children these days. ❄️🍓 Fresh strawberries appear in stores and on food markets at least in December, and they start to disappear again in March. In winter, many cafes update their seasonal menu to include strawberries, along with Christmas-themed options. If you live in contemporary South Korea, you may think that strawberry season truly is in winter…
However, it is a recent Korean misconception that strawberries are naturally ripe in the cold season!
During my childhood, strawberry season clearly was in May and June! I vividly remember how the best strawberries were sold by road vendors directly next to the highway. You could smell them while driving! On road trips in the southern province Jeollanam-do, we used to get a plastic bowl full of large strawberries and quickly devour them inside the car. To me, those strawberries were the culinary highlight of the entire trip! Warmed by the sunshine, they were mouth-wateringly fragrant and tasted juicy and sweet! 🌞
But how did winter become strawberry season? 🥶 The subject of strawberries has raised dozens of questions in my head! Are Korean strawberries different from regular strawberries? What kinds of strawberries grow in Korea? How do Koreans eat strawberries? Can you drink strawberries?
If you are hungry for answers to all these questions [or just hungry in general!], read on to see and salivate over strawberries in Korea! You will find sweet strawberries, savory strawberries, liquid strawberries – all things strawberry!
- Table of Contents:
- 📖 Short history of Korean strawberries
- 🍓 Strawberries in Korea
- 🍽 Korean foods featuring strawberries
- ❤️ Conclusion
📖 Strawberry Short History
What is commonly referred to as “strawberries” are the edible fruits of the garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), a plant that did not exist in nature but was created from different wild strawberry species!* Around the 1750s, this hybrid was developed in Europe by crossing Fragaria chiloensis from Chile with Fragaria virginiana from Northern America. [A multicultural child!]
With globalization, the strawberry traveled to other parts of the world. 🌍🌏🌎 Nowadays, the strawberry can be found almost all around the globe! She settled down in various countries and even adopted different languages, i.e. learned to thrive under the given weather conditions and meet the preferences of the local people. If the climate does not suit her, she can visit on short trips (imports). 🧳 When fresh strawberries are not available, then frozen, dried or preserved strawberry products will do. Also, artificial strawberry aroma is everywhere, and it seems everyone loves the strawberry’s flavor!
Come to think of it, the strawberry is a multicultural, cosmopolitan, polyglot and hyper-popular fruit! She is an international superstar! 💃💫
The modern garden strawberry has been known in Korea for a while by now. About 20 years ago, most strawberries grown in South Korea were Japanese cultivars, predominantly Yukbo (육보) and Janghui (장희 / Jap. 章姫 akihime). However, this has changed since Koreans cultivated their own varieties, which are better adapted to the country’s conditions. Today, nearly all Korean-grown strawberries are Korean cultivars.
Now, to answer the initial question, why is winter strawberry season in Korea? ⛄
Here is the short answer: Greenhouses.
The longer answer is as follows:
First off, strawberries are relatively easy to farm in comparison to other fruit-bearing plants: Strawberry plants are herbaceous perennials, which means that they can live several years but do not develop woody stems. 🚫🌳 As a consequence, they need neither as much space nor as much time as trees or shrubs do to grow and bear fruits.
Contemporary farming in South Korea features a lot of greenhouses. So much so that there is an abundance of vegetables all year round. 🥕🥬🍅 Even Korea’s so-called “spring greens” (originally wild herbs available only for a short time) are farmed in greenhouses, which allow harvesting them already in winter. Likewise, most Korean strawberries are nowadays grown inside greenhouses: They are small enough to fit into greenhouses and grow well under man-made circumstances. For pollination, they do not necessarily require insects or wind, but can develop fruits after being pollinated artificially.
Naturally, there would be no freshly harvested fruits during winter on mainland Korea. ⛄ If we disregard imported produce, the only Korean-grown fruits available during the cold season are those that can be stored for months: Most notoriously apples and pears, but also citrus fruits from subtropical Jeju Island possess a long shelf life. 🍎🍐🍊 Because of its characteristics, the strawberry was strategically chosen as the main star when fresh produce is scarce. In this way, the strawberry is filling a niche! There exist no other freshly harvested fruit that could compete with winter strawberries!
Being red, white and green ❤️🤍💚, strawberries match the color scheme of Christmas. 🎅🎄 Cakes decorated with fresh strawberries are not only a classic cake in Korea, they are actually a favorite during Christmas season! [If you didn’t know this already, contemporary Koreans celebrate Christmas by eating cakes with whipped cream!] In addition to that, red strawberries are a popular ingredient in treats on Valentine’s Day, which is on 14 February and technically still in winter! ❤️🌹 White strawberries, then, suit White Day, another special day for lovers on 14 March. 🤍 After all, the color of strawberries makes them an ideal ingredient for Christmas and Valentine’s Day, both being major events for Korea’s food industry, and both happening in winter. Whether a deliberate choice or pure coincidence, this is another argument for growing strawberries in the cold season.
In summary, this is what happened to strawberries in Korea: Strawberry season used to be between late spring and early summer. But today, strawberry plants are grown inside greenhouses and under optimized conditions so they bear fruits in winter. They supply the market with fresh, Korean-grown fruit during the winter months, while feeding the demands of the modern population.
That’s why strawberries are a winter fruit in Korea now. [At least for the moment… Who knows what future farming methods will bring! 👀]
🍓 Strawberries of Korea
Now that you know a little about the background of the superstar of fruits, let’s focus on Koreanized strawberries. To begin with, how do you say strawberry in Korean? Today, the Korean word for “strawberry” is simply ttalgi (딸기). [We might as well call our strawberry superstar Ttalgi Swift!]
Regardless of the popularity and abundance of strawberries in Korea, fresh strawberries are not cheap. In 2024, the average price currently lies between 6.000 and 10.000 KRW for 500g of regular strawberries. For special cultivars or high-grade fruits, it is normal to pay between 15.000 KRW and 30.000 KRW for 500g. [That is approximately 12-25 USD for 1 pound of strawberries.] Department stores charge even more for premium strawberries! 💰
Why are strawberries so expensive in Korea? 🤯 [I have asked myself this question countless times!]
First of all, consider the energy and resources that are invested into farming strawberries under unnatural conditions. Even though growing strawberries inside greenhouses is technically possible and common practice now, it is not cheap. 💸 Secondly, we need to bear in mind that strawberries are hand-picked, handled carefully and controlled multiple times before they land in front of potential customers. Most Korean strawberries are soft and fragile, so they bruise quickly! Accordingly, high-grade strawberries are packed into containers by hand, and premium strawberries are even wrapped individually. On top of that, a high level of food loss during production can be expected. Imperfect fruits cannot be sold at high prices, and are quickly discarded.
Apart from that, the size of the items often raises the price. In Korea, size matters. [As observed in previous posts about e.g. deodeok and citrus fruits.] Expensive strawberries are generally larger, whereas smaller fruits are sold for lower prices. As a rule of thumb, if you want cheaper strawberries, look for small fruits. Large strawberries and fruits sold at department stores, which are more expensive, are normally given as presents.
Nowadays, strawberries in Korea are grown locally. Particularly the regions Nonsan in Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 논산), Sancheong in Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도 산청), and Damyang in Jeollanam-do (전라남도 담양) are famous for their strawberry farms. Nonsan even has a yearly strawberry festival in March! As is the case with most kinds of produce, Korean-grown fruits are more expensive than imported fruits. So another reason why Korean strawberries are expensive is that they are grown in Korea, meaning that the price standard is higher anyways.
📋 Common Strawberry Cultivars in Korea
A strawberry is not simply red and pointy on one end! 🍓 If you look (and smell) closely, there is a large diversity of strawberries! 🍓🍓🍓 They differ in terms of size, shape, smell, softness, juiciness, ripening season and color! [There are actually more distinguishing features!]
Worldwide, there are hundreds of different strawberry varieties. South Korea alone grows several dozens of strawberry cultivars.** But normally, you can find only two or three at a given time.*** Sometimes, the strawberry variety is not specified at all.
You will come across strawberries called “Honey Strawberry” (kkul ttalgi 꿀딸기), “Sugar Strawberry” (seoltang ttalgi 설탕딸기) or “King Strawberry” (wang ttalgi 왕딸기) but these are not the names of the cultivar! They are names describing the strawberry’s properties for advertising purposes! You may also see labels such as Nonsan Strawberry (논산딸기) or Damyang Strawberry (담양딸기) – these state the regions where the strawberry farms are located.
At present, the most prominent strawberry cultivar in Korea is Seolhyang (설향 딸기 雪香). The name translates to “Scent of Snow” or “Snow Perfume”, and this variety is associated with snow because it is available first in winter – as early as November! ❄️🍓 Its sweet and aromatic fragrance makes it a popular strawberry in general.
Several other varieties also possess the syllable “hyang” in their name, which derives from the Sino-Korean character 香 for “perfume, scent”. Strawberries called something with “hyang” are characterized by a specific fragrance. Maehyang (매향 딸기) is supposed to smell like peaches. 🍑 Jukhyang (죽향 딸기), which is one of the most expensive strawberry cultivars nowadays, is said to smell of honey. 🍯 The Sukhyang strawberry (숙향 딸기 熟香), the so-called “Scent of Maturity”, develops its scent as it matures.
In Korea, strawberries are usually sold sorted by size, and there are cultivars that produce particularly large fruits, e.g. Santa (싼타 딸기) and Merry Queen (메리퀸 딸기) strawberries. But literally the king is the so-called King’s Berry (킹스베리 딸기), which can become as large as a tennis ball!
Besides the regular red strawberries, Korea has white strawberries! 🤍🍓 There are a couple of strawberry varieties that are white or light pink, even when they are fully ripe. All have appeared only in recent years, but they are still somewhat rare. Mannyeonseol (만년설 딸기 萬年雪), Seolhwa (설화 딸기) and Cinderella (신데렐라 딸기) are the main cultivars that can be found in supermarkets or department stores occasionally. Except for Mannyeonseol, these light-colored strawberries are white inside! Mannyeonseol, however, has pink flesh!
There are many more Korean strawberry varieties! Listing all of them here would be boring and dry… But who likes dry strawberries?! [A future post will describe the traits of the main strawberry cultivars and compare their differences!]
🍽 Strawberry-Full Foods
There are no limits to cooking with strawberries and creating strawberry-flavored food and drinks. Also, methods for preserving strawberries are diverse (e.g. freeze-dried, cooked into jam), and foods and drinks using preserved strawberries are countless. This post shows foods featuring strawberries that are typical in contemporary South Korea! Below examples are primarily based on fresh strawberries or raw strawberries.
During strawberry season, many Korean cafes and restaurants create special menus that feature fresh strawberries or other strawberry-flavored dishes.
🍰 Sweet Strawberry Treats
Let’s start with the most obvious kind of strawberry-related food: Dessert.
In Korea, strawberry-flavored desserts are usually vegetarian unless they contain gelatin as a thickener or cochineal extract as food coloring. Several plant-based cafes produce vegan desserts with strawberries. Overall, there is a large variety of strawberry desserts for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores in Korea.
Fresh strawberries play a major role as toppings and fillings in all kinds of desserts. Regarding Western-style desserts, there are cakes, tarts, croissants, croffles, crepes, pancakes, donuts, pastries, waffles and more that feature strawberries as the main flavoring ingredient. 🍰🎂🥞🥐🍩
Next, there are modern Asian-style desserts featuring strawberries! Originally a Japanese dessert, mochi filled with sweet red bean paste and raw strawberries (ichigo daifuku イチゴ大福 / Kor. ttalgi mojji 딸기 모찌) have been a special dessert in South Korea for more than a decade. 🍡
If you have been to China, you will know tanghulu (糖葫芦 / 糖葫蘆; Kor. tanghuru 탕후루), a North-Chinese street food featuring candied fruits on a skewer. Traditionally, this dessert is made with hawthorn. 🍎 In Korea, however, hawthorn is almost unknown and the standard fruits used for tanghulu are strawberries. 🍓 Although the taste of hawthorn and strawberries is very different, the color and the size of the fruits is similar! In recent years, tanghulu has become very popular in Korea and it is now widely available as a street food. Both of these Asian desserts are normally vegan and gluten-free by default.
🥤 Slurpable Strawberry Sweets
Besides solid desserts, you can find strawberries starring in liquid and spoon-able desserts: In bingsu, sundaes, pudding and yogurt bowls, fresh strawberries are a flavorful and colorful topping. 🥣 Strawberry ice cream and strawberry sorbet are also best during strawberry season! 🍨 🍦 🍧
In addition to that, strawberry drinks are numerous and diverse in South Korea. 🥤 When strawberries are in season, nearly every cafe offers at least two or three drinks featuring strawberries! The most prevalent strawberry drink in Korea must be strawberry latte (ttalgi ratte 딸기라떼) that consists of milk and strawberry sauce, layered on top of each other. The strawberry sauce typically has chunks of strawberries in it, and many cafes pride themselves on producing the strawberry sauce from scratch. Another standard is “strawberry juice” (ttalgi juseu 딸기주스), which is made by blending strawberries with ice cubes, water and sweetener, and is technically a kind of smoothie. Apart from that, you can find varieties of strawberry lemonade, strawberry shakes and strawberry (yogurt) smoothies.
🍕 Savory Strawberry Bites
Last but not least, strawberries can also appear in main dishes that are savory. At some restaurants or cafes, you can find strawberries in salads! 🥗 There is even such a thing as strawberry pizza! 🍕 By this, I do not mean dessert pizza but actual, savory pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, herbs and strawberries!!! [Are strawberries the new pineapple on pizza?!]
Since 2024, there is even Bibimmyeon (비빔면) with strawberry flavor! 🍜 Bibimmyeon are cold wheat noodles mixed with a spicy sauce and several toppings. After uploading an image of a strawberry-flavored Bibimmyeon on April Fool’s Day in 2023, the company Paldo (팔도) has released it as a limited edition product in February 2024! And what’s more, this kind of instant noodles is accidentally vegan! 🌱
The use of strawberries in savory foods corresponds with the concept danjjan (단짠; “sweet-salty”) which has become fairly popular in contemporary Korean food culture.
On top of that, strawberry buffets are a thing! At least in today’s Seoul! When strawberry season is at its peak, particularly in February and March, certain restaurants and hotels offer strawberry buffets (ttalgi bwipe 딸기 뷔페) as a special event. 🍽 There, all kinds of foods and drinks featuring strawberries are served: From sweet to savory, customers can eat and drink their fill of strawberries for a set entrance fee. Strawberry galore! 🍓🍓🍓
❤️ Strawberry Season Forever
In summary, strawberries are very popular in Korea and enjoyed in countless different ways – ranging from sweet to savory! Strawberries are mostly served fresh and raw, as the main ingredient inside or on top of a dish. Also in frozen or in liquid form, strawberry-flavored dishes dominate the food scene during winter. Particularly around Christmas time or Valentine’s Day, strawberries stand in the spotlight. 🍓❤️🎅 They are touring restaurants, cafes and street food stalls at least between December and March. But strawberries are loved all year round! 💃✨
The best established flavor duo are strawberries and cream. 🍓🍦 Actually, strawberry plus anything white is a classic, e.g. strawberries with milk, yogurt or vanilla ice cream. 🍓🥛 Just like strawberries and snow is a major theme in Korea these days! 🍓⛄️ Another key combination is strawberries with chocolate. 🍓🍫 Minor but known Korean combinations are strawberries with banana, matcha or pistachios. 🍓🍵 The color code of red, white and green persists…
What is YOUR favorite way of eating strawberries?
Did you ever combine strawberries with something savory? What do you think about mixing sweet fruits like strawberries with savory food? 🍓🍕
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Additional notes from the author
*) There are several species of wild strawberries, all belonging to the genus Fragaria! In Europe alone, there are e.g. the woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), the musk strawberry (Fragaria moschata) and the creamy strawberry (Fragaria viridis).
**) Korea Seed and Variety Service (국립 종자원)
***) Korean food markets are rather homogeneous: Often only one popular variety of a fruit or vegetable dominates the entire market. Yet, the selection of cultivars can change with time. As in food fashion, popularity of certain foods and fruits is temporary and evolving.
This post was inspired by conversations with friends in an international vegan chatroom on KakaoTalk.
♣️Sesame Sprinkles♣️ 
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