* * *
The next performer, Hyun Woo-jin, was living in Suncheon.
I met Go Ae-ju and Suncheon Station.
“I feel like I am traveling around the country with Mr. Deokmyeong.”
“That’s right, by the end of the broadcast, there must be a place I haven’t been to.”
Hyun Woo-jin lived about an hour away from Suncheon Station.
Go Ae-joo had quite a bit of luggage.
“What did you bring? Are there any lucky cookies in it?”
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On the way to Okcheon, I remembered that she handed me a lucky cookie.
“No, unfortunately there are no lucky sweets.”
“But what did you bring so many?”
I looked at the thick paper bag and asked.
“You got the sweets. I prepared some sweets for the children.”
“It’s something to give to the six siblings.”
“I also had a lot of experience with brothers and sisters… Eating a cookie was war.”
“It’s a sweets war, it’s fun.”
When I said with a smile, Go Ae-joo responded with a serious face.
“Mr. Deokmyeong doesn’t have any brothers?”
“Yes, unfortunately I am alone.”
“That’s why you don’t know, the fierce sweets war.”
“Are you that fierce?”
A pleasant story followed along the way.
Go Ae-ju was talking about an incident in her childhood and brought out a cookie she had bought.
“At that time, I did everything I could to eat another cookie.”
“Would you like some?”
“Yes, I want to eat one.”
“That’s something I’m going to give to the six siblings…”
“I will only eat one.”
Go Ae-joo smiled and forgot the cookie.
“It’s delicious to eat right now, can I get you one, Mr. Deokmyeong?”
Go Ae-ju asked with a bright face.
As she said, the sweets tasted good.
“I think we’re almost there.”
Go Ae-ju looked around and said.
We arrived in the neighborhood where Hyun Woo-jin lives.
“I’ll stop the car for a minute.”
I stopped the car.
“why? What’s going on?”
“I see a sign.”
“A sign?”
There was a field right in front. A familiar name appeared on the sign.
[Hyun Woojin Ginseng Farm]
It was like the place where Hyun Woo-jin grew ginseng.
“It’s like Hyun Woo-jin’s ginseng farm.”
Go Ae Joo’s expression darkened. Only the signboard said that this was a ginseng farm.
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Now, it is impossible to think of it as a ginseng field. It looked more barren than Lee Ki-seok’s farmland.
That was then.
A group of children ran towards us.
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One of the children asked me.
“Isn’t that the person who appears on Mister’s TV show?”
Everyone’s faces were bright.
“Didn’t you come to my house by any chance?”
Exactly six children.
They were like Hyun Woo-jin’s children.
A man was approaching us.
6 years of hard work
A skinny man stood in front of me.
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One of the six children hung like a koala from the man’s leg.
The man asked us.
“Did you come out of the station?”
“This is the writer Ko Ae-joo who called. This is Kim Deok-myeong.”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Woojin Hyun. I am enjoying the show.”
As expected, this is Hyun Woo-jin.
he held out his hand My hands were rough.
“As soon as you arrived, you saw the farm.”
He said looking at the ruined ginseng field.
“During the torrential rain last year, everything was submerged. It poured like a hole in the sky, helpless.”
It was a torrential downpour due to extreme weather. He tried to pump out water using a water pump, but it was in vain.
The ginseng fields that were swept away by heavy rain were miserable. All six-year-old ginseng before harvest was discarded.
The six years of farming had come to an end in vain.
“Go home.”
Hyun Woo-jin guided me home. The children went ahead when they were told to go home.
“The kids are so cute.”
“It is the joy and hope of my life.”
I remembered the article he wrote while applying for the broadcast. He is a man who can never be broken even for the sake of children.
His house was 5 minutes away from the ginseng field. It is a house with a large yard.
A woman was boiling something in a cauldron. She saw us and ran over.
“Welcome, thank you for being here.”
This is Seong Mi-hee, Hyun Woo-jin’s wife.
Go Ae-ju unwrapped the sweets she had brought to the table.
“It’s sweets.”
When I unpacked the cookies, the children ran in like sparrows.
“I have to say hi and eat.”
Seong Mi-hee looked at the children and said.
“I will enjoy this food.”
Six children said belly button greetings at the same time. It was so cute that it made me smile without realizing it.
The oldest of the children shared the sweets evenly. Contrary to the expectations of the lover, there was no sweets war.
“Go into your room.”
We went into the room together. The walls were covered with pictures of children.
“I watched the show. It was heartbreaking to see that I had helped the beekeepers. I had hope that I could get up again.”
Hyun Woo-jin looked into my eyes and said. His eyes got wet as he spoke the word hope.
Seong Mi-hee came in with a car. As soon as she handed the teacup, Hyun Woo-jin asked.
“I want to try ginseng again, is it possible?”
His eyes were shining brightly.
Go Ae-joo and Seong Mi-hee also looked at me.
“I also thought about ginseng. But it will take some time to start ginseng again, will it be okay?”
I asked carefully.
This is a completely different case from Hwang Gyu-dae, who started beekeeping again.
He received honey bees and competed with mobile beekeeping.
Ginseng took time to grow.
They had to wait six years to harvest.
I wondered what he was thinking.
“I thought about it a lot, even thinking about starting another farm. But I didn’t want to give up easily.”
Hyun Woo-jin finished speaking and looked at his wife.
Seong Mi-hee also seemed to have something to say.
“I have the same thoughts as my husband. It’s something my husband and I have been working on for a long time.”
Seong Mi-hee picked up a book from the bookshelf in the corner of the room.
“We studied together with this book.”
she handed me the book
[Encyclopedia of Ginseng Cultivation]
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No matter how many times I looked, the bookshelf was tattered. The couple’s efforts were felt.
The go-a-ju looked at the worn-out books and looked worried.
“Maybe it is the greed of my husband and I. If you can suggest a better way, I am willing to listen.”
Hyun Woo-jin said in a polite manner.
“Look at my mind, with the customer in front.”
Seong Mi-hee got up from her seat and said.
“Are you still before lunch? You must eat.”
There was no time to say it was okay. She moved like lightning.
“You’ve come all the way here, and I’d like to serve you a meal.”
Hyun Woo-jin recommended in a soft tone.
Go Ae-ju nodded her head. My eyes were still on the old book.
I didn’t think much of rice. I was worried about starting a farm with him.
The desire to start ginseng again was completely understandable. Even if ginseng farming was successfully restarted, it would take a considerable amount of time to make a profit.
This is the point I am concerned about.
“Today’s lunch is a special meal, but I don’t know if it will fit.”
“Are you special?”
Go Ae-joo asked. He seems to be interested in the word special.
I wondered too.
“Children love it so much, today is a good day, so let’s eat outside.”
A lunch table was set up on a flat in the yard.
The children helped set the table.
From the little one to the eldest, each one seemed to have a fixed task.
It was cute and looked good.
When Seong Mi-hee opened the cauldron lid, the children exclaimed and liked it.
Seong Mi-hee took out the food from the cauldron.
“It’s booze.”
What was steaming in the cauldron was sake bread.
Seong Mi-hee cut the bread and put it on a plate.
An appetizing alcoholic beverage was placed in front of me. The children were licking their mouths.
Even if you just ate a cookie, you look hungry again.
“Come on.”
The couple said at the same time. When I touched the bread, the children ate it too.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
My mother sometimes made sake bread.
I remember not eating when I was a kid when I heard that there was makgeolli in sake bread.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
My mother told me when there was alcohol in the bread and I didn’t want to eat it.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
Makgeolli only serves to ferment the dough. After learning that the alcohol in makgeolli disappears in the process of making bread, I often ate Sulbang deliciously.
I could feel the taste my mother used to make in the bread made by Seong Mi-hee.
“It tastes really good. It’s different from eating out. Would you like it to be clearer?”
Go Ae-ju said with a satisfied expression.
“I made it with makgeolli that my husband and I made ourselves.”
Seong Mi-hee said with a smile.
“Do you also make makgeolli?”
“I am working part-time.”
“A part-time job?”
Hyun Woo-jin and Seong Mi-hee were attending a makgeolli brewery.
This was done after the ginseng field was destroyed.
Even for children, the couple needed a stable income. There was a limit to buying someone else’s house.
The makgeolli factory work started early in the morning and ended in the morning. He said he was working today.
to let u know that i been through a lot then i been going non stop with this practice for nothing
My heart ached at the unpredictable life of the family, but at the same time I felt the strength of the couple.
“Eat more.”
“No, I ate enough.”
Go Ae-ju and I left the house after dinner.
Six children went out to see off.
Seong Mi-hee packed the buns.
“We will contact you as soon as we have an appointment.”
* * *
Go Ae-ju was dropped off at Suncheon Station. She brought a buns. You seem to like the buns.
After packing everything, he asked me.
“What are you going to do?”
“I think we should think about it a little more.”
“How about cultivating ginseng as Hyun Woo-jin wants?”
“I am open to all possibilities.”
“As you know, time is money for us…”
Go Ae-ju said cautiously.
After letting her go, I headed back to Hyun Woo-jin’s neighborhood.
Like in the case of Lee Ki-seok, I wanted to see if there was anything to use the surrounding environment.
After much deliberation, Lee Ki-seok recommended the cultivation of kites.
It was a decision made in consideration of the surrounding environment.
Unlike back then, there was nothing that could be done using the surrounding environment.
While I was thinking about it, I got a phone call.
I am Ye Na-eun from Suncheon.
A young farmer who learned dried persimmons from me.
“I have received information that it is in Suncheon.”
“Who did you hear from?”
“I heard from Hyunsik.”
Ye Na-eun and Bang Hyeon-sik were living like older sisters.
When Bang Hyun-sik was having a hard time, Ye Na-eun helped as if it was her own job.
When I was making sesame oil, I stayed up all night to help.
“I’m working, so come take a look.”
“I’m curious, what are you doing?”
“Come and check it out for yourself.”
I headed to the address given by Ye Na-eun. It was also close to Hyun Woo-jin’s village.
I was intrigued to hear that you were working.
Ye Na-eun is a woman who returned to farming while working as a lecturer at a private academy. Dried persimmon farming was something I learned to settle down in the countryside, but it was interesting to do something other than farming dried persimmons.
I parked my car in front of a small store.
It is a store with a sign that reads [Organic Village].
Ye Na-eun said with a surprised expression.
“I didn’t expect it to come so soon.”
“It was close. But what are you doing here?”