Grape variety with mango taste grows popular in S. Korea

SEOUL — A new grape variety called shine muscat is an increasingly popular choice on South Korean dinner tables.

Shine muscat is distinguished by its unique taste, which includes mango flavors. The yellow-green berries carry a musky flavor, but without much sourness.

The variety is more expensive than others in South Korea. E-commerce platform E-mart Mall sells the grapes for 1,890 won ($1.68) per 100 grams, while green grapes imported from the US cost 770 won per 100 grams.

According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, shine muscat was first harvested in South Korea in 2014. The acreage dedicated to the variety has been increasing every year, from 2.78 square kilometers in 2016, to 4.84 square kilometers in 2017 and 9.63 square kilometers this year. More than 80 per cent of the farms are in North Gyeongsang Province.

Shine Muscat has been riding on the social media wave, too. As of Friday, around 14,000 posts, with the hashtag “Shine Muscat” in Korean, have been uploaded to Instagram.