There are plenty of special adventures to do outside of Seoul. Rural Gangjin 강진군 in Jeollanam-do offers lots to do over a long weekend, and it should be on your radar of places to visit in Korea. In April of 2021, I toured Gangjin for three days. The tour was organized through allmytour, and in all, we visited more locations than I can shake a stick at! Below is a list of the activities I had a chance to try:
- Farm stay with local family, Antonio and Angela
- Janggu drums
- Gangjin Celadon Museum
- Pottery experience (Gangjin Celadon Museum)
- Making tofu
- Sihwa Village and visiting the “1987 When the Day Comes” movie location
- Sauijae traditional Hanok and historical folk performance
- Dongbu Market
- Gaudo Island Suspension Bridge and Zip Line
- Traditional Korean Meal: Braised Fish and banchan (side dishes)
- Gangjinman Ecological Park and Wetlands
- Kalguksu cooking class
- Making Gimbap
- Green Tea Fields
- Calligraphy with farm stay hosts
GETTING THERE
I took the KTX train direct, from Seoul to Mokpo, and at Mokpo, we hired a couple of cars from a rental service beside the train station. We were a team of two guides and four ladies.
FARMSTAY
Our accommodation was organized at a farm-stay, and there, Antonio, his wife Angela, and their son took good care of us. We ate several traditional Korean meals there freshly prepared by Angela. Antonio took us to several locations where we had a chance to harvest and plant veggies including potatoes, Balloon flower (Doraji), lettuce and more. The setting was calming, serene and a needed change from my busy neighborhood in Gangnam Seoul. The serene mountainous area was only interrupted by the moo-ing of a cow, and within minutes of arrival, my hunched shoulders lowered, and a smile spread across my face.
THE TOUR
Janggu is a type of Korean drum often featured in traditional performances. I was excited to visit an instructor’s music studio to learn basic beats and play music together. I’ve loved drums ever since I was a kid, and this little practice session was quite enthralling for me personally. Our instructor coincidently was also an expert at making traditional Korean tofu. We settled in to to soak up her expert knowledge and try making tofu ourselves! Be sure to check out the video to experience these classes with me as they happened.
Our tour brought us to Sihwa village, a snapshot into Korea’s past, about 20 years ago. This village frozen in time was picked by set locators to record the Movie, 1987: When the Day Comes. A little shop where video footage for the movie was recorded is now a popular tourist attraction. It was a fun little walk down the steps and narrow allies that led to the famous shop front.
Sauijae Hanok Village hosted a folk performance during our visit. The storyline was based on a true historical account, and the actors were very energetic and engaged with us after the performance. I liked that they made an effort to interact with the visitors. Dorothy and I were whisked onto a traditional pavilion and invited to try musical instruments and take photos with the acting cast. They also had a delightful hanok café where we stopped to enjoy coffee. The picturesque views around us were stunning, and the traditional hanok structures made photo-taking irresistible!
Dongbu Market is much like any other traditional Korean market. It features lots of fruits and veggies, as well as fresh seafood, and of course, small Ma & Pa restaurants. I enjoyed lunch there with another youtuber friend, Dorothy Huller, and tasted the local sundae (blood sausage) as well as a light gimbap snack.
Gaudo Island features a zip line which crosses water and offers an incredible view of Gaudo Suspension Bridge. I spontaneously agreed to do try the zip line, but I definitely felt hesitant as I stepped on the drop-off platform! It was my first ever zip line experience, and I confess that I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I never get tired of eating, and I have to admit that in tours like this, the food is often my favourite attraction of the entire itinerary! That said, we tried Korean braised fish at a traditional restaurant which was TO DIE FOR! It was cooked perfectly, and the seasoning was tasty! To my surprised, the fish I ate contained eggs, and that in itself was a new experience for me!
Gangjinman Ecological Park is known for its serene views, so we stopped by to take some pretty photos. We had the place almost to ourselves due to the fact that not many people are traveling at this time. It’s definitely worth a quick visit if you’re in the neighborhood.
I love cooking classes, and one activity I really looked forward to from this tour was making gimbap and kalguksu noodles! Gimbap (or sushi rolls) was a lot more work-intensive that I had previously suspected. The best part of the cooking class of course was eating what we made! Yum, yum, yum.
Before leaving the countryside, we visited the stunning Osulloc tea fields. Did I mention that I love tea? I’m British, so that should say it all. Osulloc is my favourite Korean tea brand, and their specialty is green tea. The field we visited was right beside one of the top fifty famous mountains of Korea, Wulcholsan (thanks to Mike Yoon for that detail). Coincidently, I happen to have a box of the Master Green Tea in my tea cupboard from this very mountain! Lightly fermented early-spring green tea is soooooo good. I feel like I should have a YouTube channel dedicated just to trying teas around the world!
Finally, I tried traditional Korean calligraphy. I love arts of all kinds, and I first developed a love of handwriting perhaps when my mother taught me cursive as a child. Trying artistic forms of writing has never got boring for me. Thank you, Angela, for your attentiveness and a delightful experience.
I hope you found this article helpful. I’d like to thank AllMyTour and the province of Gangjin-gun for hosting this tour and preparing the activities. Thanks also to tour guides, Minho and Marco, who took care of us so well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Check out the videos recorded on site and experience these moments with me as they happen!
Natasha~
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Tasha is author of Attract and Retain a Fulfilling Relationship.
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