There is this strange fruit in Korea called the Mo-gwa.
It must not be only in Korea, because the dictionary calls is a Chinese quince. Like there are other quinces.
I call it a strange fruit, because you don't eat it. And what is the point of a fruit if not to eat it?
You can buy them in the market in the winter, buy nobody does. Why would you? You can't eat it.
But people walk around campus in December with big sticks and knock the mo-gwa out of trees. Doesn't matter if they bruise when hitting the ground– nobody is eating them anyways.
People take them home and decorate the kitchen with them. They look delicious, and smell great. I don't get it. What is the point of looking delicious if nobody is going to eat you anyways.
I've tried. The are hard, waxy to the touch, and taste like a candle.
But there are three rules that everyone should know about mo-gwa:
- Don't put them in he sun,
- don't get them wet, and
- do not, no matter how much they beg, absolutely, do not feed them after midnight.
