Custom of Utilizing Blueberries in Area of Mt Paektu

Pyongyang, September 5 (KCNA) -- From olden times the Korean people have widely used blueberry, a local specialty in the area of Mt Paektu, for their diet and medical treatment.

The Korean people have preferred to eat the raw blueberry as it has high nutritional value and pharmacological efficacy. And the processed products including wine, syrup and jelly, and medicines like a cough drop, obstruent and hemostatic, which were made from the blueberry, have also been popular among them.

The blueberry is a deciduous shrub which grows 30-40 centimeters high or 1.2 meters high to the maximum in high mountainous areas including the Paektu Plateau and Piro Peak of Mt Kumgang.

Its bark is grey brown, its young branches are hairy and its leaves are 0.9-3 centimeters long. The surface of the leaf is green and its back is light white.

Its flowers bloom between in late June and late July. Various shapes of its fruits ripen from late July to late September and they are dark purple.

The blueberry is usually propagated by seeds, roots, and branches.

The custom of utilizing the blueberry was registered as a part of the national intangible cultural heritage in February 2026. -0-