Let’s Go for Food Hunting in Pyeongchang!!!

It has been three months since I joined this program. We had a lot of fun traveling while experiencing the Korean culture through various farming activities. It is sad to say this is my last trip for this program. How I wish I can go on more trips like this in the future! TT Hopefully this will not be my last blog post since the very purpose of creating this blog is for the farm trips. Without having much said, let’s have a food hunting with me!

First Stop: 靜江園 JeongGangWon 정강원!

Briefly, Jeonggangwon was established with profound purposes. It aims to expose Korea’s traditional food culture to the world, distribute and publicize the true value of Korea’s food into the globe. Meanwhile, it is used to conduct research on the value and excellence of Korea’s traditional food culture. If you are a food lover and desperate to hunt for Korea food, you will definitely like this place!

Transportation: From Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, take an intercity bus bound for Jangpyeong (장평). The bus starts from 6:32 in the morning and ends at 8:05 in the evening at 30 minutes to 1 hour intervals. Approximately 2 hours to reach Jangpyeong Bus Terminal, take a cab to the Institute of Traditional Korean Cuisine (or Jeong Gang Won).

The first activity is Hanbok experiencing. This is not my first time wearing Korean traditional costume. Frankly speaking, I don’t really like Hanbok as I look chubby in Hanbok. Haha However, Hanbok for woman is really beautiful and elegant. You definitely need to try if you plan to travel to Korea. Of course, you don’t need to come here to experience Hanbok, Seoul does have it. But, Jeonggangwon is the best place to take photo with Hanbok as it is built in alignment with the preservation of Korean traditional culture and style. Don’t hesitate to take breathtaking photos with the Hanok, it is the highlight of the whole trip! I am sort of a passionate photographer, I don’t want to miss the chance to add some stunning photos into my album. If you have time, check out my masterpieces! I did add some here. So, in a nutshell, it is a awesome spot for photography and Korean culture experiencing. By the way, we almost spent two hours on taking photos.

After taking photos, we were exhausted. Our stomach started to demonstrate dissatisfaction by making all kinds of noise. No choice, we need to grab something to feed him. Haha Alright, my english writing skill is just so-so. As I mentioned before, this institute is established to research on Korean traditional food. Guess what is the representative of Korean food? Bibimbap! If you never try bibimbap in Korea, don’t tell anyone you have traveled to Korea before. (Just kidding XP) In this activity, all the food materials were exquisitely prepared and we just mixed them together. Kinda sad when we mixed it and spoiled its well-decorated appearance. I couldn’t wait to eat it, the aroma of bibimbap has definitely sharpened my appetite! It seemed appealing, in color, flavor and taste! Well, it tastes really good! The nutrients needed by our body are all included in this one bowl of bibimbap. For your information, bibimbap is a food only serve to the royal family and honored guests.

Second stop: 義野地 Uiyaji Wind Village 의야지 바람마을

This village is located on the highlands of Pyeongchang county, situated on top of Daegwalleyong between 750 and 800 meters above sea level. It is the best place to ski as it is one of the first places in Korea to have the first snowfall! At Uiyaji Wind Village, you can enjoy the sheep gazing at you (sounds so creepy lol), ermm I mean enjoy the scenery of sheep grazing in harmony with the green fields. The nation’s largest grassland is located at Samyang Farm and Hanil Farm. There are many hands-on activities for tourists to experience! Here list a few:
1. Winter activities such as sledding, skiing, snow-rafting, sleigh-riding etc.
2. Making cheese and ice-cream
3. Making food such as pizza etc
Promotional video: https://youtu.be/RJ6pfxxQP_E

Transportation: From Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, take an intercity bus bound for Hoenggye (횡계). The bus starts from 6:32 in the morning and ends at 8:05 in the evening at 30 minutes intervals. You can take a cab to Uiyaji Wind Village from Hoenggye Bus Terminal, which takes approximately 10 minutes. Cab fare is approximated around 5000 Won.

The first activity is making cheese. The enthusiastic ajumma has explained a lot of information about the material used in this cheese, its nutrient contain, the process of making it and etc. However, I remembered nothing, except this cheese is very good for your body because it is made of milk. The process of making the cheese is kinda easy you just need to follow the instruction and be quick. Yes, be quick. The trick of making a good cheese is to control the time. It is stated in the movie ‘Lucy’, time is the only unit measuring all things. This cheese is really different from the cheese selling outside. It is not the typical cheese that you eat, it is milk cheese. My friend, however, didn’t really like the cheese as it tasted strange to them. I kinda like it though. :)