Durian in South Korea

January 18, 2013 by chrissantosra 22 Comments

I was walking down the streets of Sorae on Wednesday afternoon and found this truck loaded with durian. It was the first time I’ve seen durian being sold in Korea, so I got excited to take a photo and show it to my husband. Hubby and I are not crazy about this fruit, but I remember our ordeal trying to find one in the Philippines when durian was not in season. I even talked about it in a post entitled Disappointed over Durian.

These durians are quite pricey. The big ones cost 30, 000 KRW (1151.30 PHP) (28.33 USD); the small ones are 25, 000 KRW (959.42 PHP) (23.61 USD). (No wonder the sign under 두리안 says WE ACCEPT PAYMENT VIA CARD.^^) Well, everything is expensive in Sorae, and people from this place won’t mind buying a costly fruit just to know what the “King of fruits” really tastes or smells like.

An ajumma asked the vendor from where the durians are imported. He said they’re from the Philippines. Southern Mindanao is known as the “Durian capital” in the Philippines. Other countries in Southeast Asia that are also famous for this intriguing fruit are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam. Those who have tried the fruit have different opinions about it. Some people like the smell; some don’t. The smell has been described by others as strong perfume, rotten onions, gym socks, turpentine, or sewage. As for me, the smell of durian is similar to the sweaty armpit of somebody who hasn’t taken a shower for days! Some people like durian because of its mushy and sweet taste, but my husband and I think the fruit tastes strange.

If you can’t handle the smell of the fruit, you can try durian candy or durian chips. I bought some when I went to Malaysia. The putrid smell of durian isn’t there, but they sure taste like durian.

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• Disappointed over Durian (chrissantosra.wordpress.com)
• An Interesting Day in Hyewa (chrissantosra.wordpress.com)
• The Best Mango in Korea (buhaykorea.com)
• Chuck from the Bronx: Durian Fruit Challenge (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)
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• Scientists sniff out the substances behind the aroma in the ‘king of fruits’ (eurekalert.org)