Ipha (the beginning of summer; this year on May 5) and Soman (when all things grow; May 21) mark the season when the fresh green foliage peaks. The seasonal delicacy you must not miss now is durup. There is nothing like it for reviving a languid spring appetite and boosting energy.
Toegye Yi Hwang described it in a poem as "sansang mokduchae" (vegetable on top of the tree). It means "mokduchae is the best among mountain greens." Mokduchae, meaning a vegetable on the top of a tree, refers to durup.
There are roughly three types of durup. The new shoots of the durup tree are cham-durup, the new shoots of the kalopanax tree are gae-durup, and the new shoots of a perennial herb called "dokhwal" are "ttang-durup." All three belong to the Araliaceae family and look similar. The harvest time is earliest for ttang-durup and latest for gae-durup. The bitterness and aroma are strongest in the order of ttang-durup, cham-durup, and gae-durup. Cham-durup and gae-durup, which are woody plants, are characterized by fine thorns on the stems.
Although the prefix "gae" is often used before fruits to mean unripe or inferior, the "gae" in gae-durup is understood to mean "wild." In fact, gae-durup has a strong aroma and flavor and sells for the highest price among the three types of durup in the market.
Gae-durup grows in many parts of the country, but Gangneung is cited as a specialty area. Gangneung gae-durup was registered in 2012 as a geographically indicated forest product.
The parent tree of gae-durup, the kalopanax, is distributed throughout Korea. In standard Korean, both eomnamu and eumnamu are used. It grows well in mid-mountain areas at elevations of 200–700 meters. It is common on gentle mountain slopes with well-drained, fertile soil and semi-shade conditions. Mid-mountain villages in Gangneung, with the Taebaek Mountains to the west and the sea to the east, offer optimal conditions for the kalopanax to grow wild. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, urbanization and its popularity as a medicinal herb led to indiscriminate harvesting and a sharp decline in individual trees.
Gae-durup is said to purify the blood and calm the body and mind, helping improve depression and relieve fatigue. Boiling and drinking the bark of the eumnamu tree is believed to lower blood sugar, so people with diabetes seek it out. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory for treating skin diseases, ulcers, and infectious wounds. The Dongui Bogam (Eastern Medicine Treasure) records that durup "is mildly warm in nature and non-toxic. To use it as medicine, harvest it in spring, remove the thorns, and dry it in the sun before use."
In season, durup is most commonly blanched lightly and dipped in cho-gochujang. It pairs perfectly with rich, fatty meat.