The person who grew the "text apple" sponsored by APEC... "Proud to have the excellence of Gyeongbuk apples known to the world"

"After 8 years, I tried writing an apology via text message, and I was worried, but the difficulty was doubled by the satisfaction."

If we were to pick a hit item from the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held recently in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, it would undoubtedly be the "text message apple."

The apples, engraved with pictures and English phrases meaning Korea on the surface, such as the Geumgwan Crown, Cheomseongdae, and Gat, were provided to the conference rooms, exhibition halls, and media centers, and are highly regarded as a messenger that announced the level of the Korean apple industry to the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected the text message apple as the official sponsorship item for the event.

According to the North Gyeongsang Province Agricultural Technology Institute, six farms supplied the text message apples during the event period. Five farms from the Mungyeong region and one farm from the Yeongju region. The total number of apples supplied by these farms was 3,000, with 'Gamhong' and 'Yanggwang' each accounting for half. These mid-season varieties were selected as the supply varieties considering the timing of the event.

Park In-su, the representative of Songje Farm in Maseong-myeon, Mungyeong-si, supplied 900 'Gamhong' apples. This is the largest supplier of 'Gamhong' apples among the six farms. The text message apple is made by attaching a sun-blocking sticker to the surface of the apple to prevent the part from turning red.

Jo Young-sook, the director of the North Gyeongsang Province Agricultural Technology Institute, said, "Earlier this year, while discussing souvenirs with Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo and others, we came up with the idea of making the text message apple, which has been commonly commercialized as a gift item domestically, into a reciprocal gift." Kim Bo-hyun, the head of the Horticultural Crops Team at the North Gyeongsang Province Agricultural Technology Institute, said, "It is the first time that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designated fresh agricultural products as official sponsorship items."

Park said, "I grow 'Gamhong', 'Fuji', 'Arisu', and other varieties in my 33,057 square meters (10,000 pyeong) orchard." He said, "I was commissioned by the North Gyeongsang Province Agricultural Technology Institute in May to produce text message apples, and I started working on it in June. I packaged 2,500 'Gamhong' apples in bags and managed them without any defects until September." According to Park, the fruit was bagged to achieve a uniform color. The sticker attachment work was done in September and October. Park said, "Because the apples are round, starting the day by reattaching fallen stickers every morning for two months was the beginning of my daily routine."