Korea Rural Tourism: Slow living at Samjinae Village

It is my second time in Damyang! And just a brief introduction to Damyang city — it is one of the northernmost places where bamboo can be found on the Korean peninsula (for some reasons not all places have bamboo in Korea), and its bamboo forests are well-known among Koreans. Many touristic attractions have been created to leverage that reputation. But little did I know, aside from bamboo, Damyang has another side — a village called Samjicheon, which was designated as a “Slow City” in 2008. Prior to its designation, Samjicheon, a small village with little over 500 residents, was easily overlooked by tourists visiting the Damyang area. This charming rural village contains well-preserved traditional hanok houses and 3.6km of stonewalls that meander around the town.

Being in the Slow city, I felt a sudden restlessness inside me. For the longest time, I have forgotten how to take things slow, and being in a fast pace city like Seoul, where everything should be “pali, pali”, I have missed out the joy and the simple act of settling time away for myself. Being here, I was able to let go of responsibilities, daily choirs, and joining the local, I was able to experience some of this childhood fun in the Korean countryside. 

Looks easy, but walking on top of these bamboos is no easy task, whoever says it’s hard to walk in heels, you should probably try this first, lol.

Even the korean have no luck in getting this right, lol. Ok, perhaps no korean from Seoul, lol.

Aside from the food, I would also like to draw some attention to the local food, the local says, most of my korean friends actually, says Jeollanamdo has the best food in the entire Korea, probably better than food in Jeonju. And my verdict? Likely so, I’m not an expert in korean dished, but I could taste the freshness and the difference in the banchan prepared here and those in Seoul.

That day, I had the most kimichs in my life, plates after plates, oh kimchiland, I finally found you.

Making Bee Wax Candles

Signed up for a candle making class over the list they provided, well I always like to learn something when I’m visiting new places.

I didn’t realize it was this easy to make beeswax candles– it’s pretty much melt and pour. But to speed up the process, we choose to melt and dip, using an existing bee wax candle and to increase it’s size =D

My final product! The lady said I should keep this for awhile, and it will smells better when it burns. She literally told us this candles are like friends, “the longer you keep the better they are”. #wordsoftheday

Making Korean Toffee “Yeot”

Yeot is a traditional Korean confectionary (or hangwa) made from grains or sweet potatoes (basically, anything with starch) that have been steamed and fermented with barley malt and boiled until liquified. Depending on the boiling period, the yeot can take a syrup form (jocheong) which is used for cooking or for other hangwa, or it can solidify when cooled and be stretched into a taffy-like substance. Although it can be consumed by itself, many local varieties involve folding ingredients such as sesame seeds, pumpkin, walnuts, etc. into the yeot as it cools down.

In many parts of the city you can see guys making this traditional candy, eaten by Kings centuries ago. It starts with a hard piece of honey then it is twisted in corn starch to make thousands of little strings.

See how it turns from brown to white? The more you fold the thinner it gets. I imagine making ramen when i’m doing this. Hahaha..

Hand make candy, another achievement unlocked!

After mess! after awhile when the Yeot starts cooling down, it hardens and making it even more difficult to pull and fold, and there you see, my hands are all red and burning.

But regardless, I will do it all over again for this sweet sweet treat. It’s yummy, and a very novel experience for me!

With the very kind imo (aunties) at the centre, and my sonbeh (Senior) from school.

So after the Korean Toffee Class, we had some time before dinner and together with some friends, we took a stroll down the village with the local. It was mesmerizing, seeing the sunset over the rice field, and the nostalgic view of some of the hundred-year-old hanok.

Loving every corner of this village!

I always thought they look like giant marshmallow lying over the rice field, haha. The white packaging is actually hay inside for the farmer to cover the rice field with during the cold winter, keeping them away from snow.

Samjicheon is an official “slow city,” a designation made by an organization based in Italy, where the Cittaslow movement started in 1999. The movement encourages nations around the world to preserve the cultural legacies of small towns and promote slower lifestyles, discouraging technology in favor of tradition.
Samjicheon, located in South Jeolla province, was the first city in Asia to gain such status in 2007. Since then, four other towns in Korea have also been named slow cities. Only 111 cities worldwide share this distinction.

DINNER TIME! It’s bulgogi!!!

it’s truly scrumptious and of course I couldn’t let go off the kimchi, if I have a tupperware. I would have…

After dinner, an unexpected activity pop-ed up, the time where we recollect our fun times during the day and bind them together permanently! It’s scrapbook time! I really enjoy activities like this, art and craft but on top of that, pinning down my memories on something I can hold and touch, a real object, non digital. You know what I mean?

In visiting the Samjicheon Village I was impressed by their ways of living and thought that I could not see this in the city. The people who live in this area want to live in harmony with nature as well as to recover a loss of humanity caused by rapid urbanization. Although these attitudes have receded more and more in today’s society, we should focus on the preservation of tradition, culture and the natural environment as much as possible. Speediness is more convenient and materialistic enrichment might be still deeply rooted in our society, but ‘Slowness’ fertilizes our mind by reminding us of some priceless values transcending time and space. If you want to escape from your busy life in the city, I would recommend that you visit Slow City!

DIRECTION TO SAMJICHEON VILLAGE

Address: Samcheon-ri, Changpyeong-myeon, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do province
Information: +82-61-383-7877
Tourist Information: +82-61-1330 (KOR, ENG, JAP, CHI)
Getting There: From Seoul take a train to Gwangju-> From Gwangju Train Station take bus 303-> Get off at Changpyeong Police Station and walk to the village. Or take the bus to Damyang Inter-city Bus Terminal and then take a regional bus or taxi to the Samjicheon village.




Posted by Mandy Chan http://www.mandylogy.com/slow-living-at-samjinae-village/