Korea Trip - Part 2

Slept like a rock at the Green Hotel, and felt rather like we slept on one too - that was one hard mattress! But we were so tired that even the flashing red neon sign outside this "Love Hotel" couldn't keep us awake for long.

The next morning was cool and foggy. It felt great! On the bus early and headed to another traditional Korean breakfast banquet. This morning it was a delicious soup with chunks of tofu, fish, and sweet squash - just slightly spicy and very warming - plus all the usual side dishes. Lots of great conversation too, as the fellow tour members all get to know each other better. By the time breakfast was over, the sun was burning off the fog.We headed into Gokseong County and pulled up at the Gokseong County Agriculture Technical Center where Mr Cho KyungHun, the Team Leader, gave us a warm welcome. They had a big banner gracing the doorway. This county is one of the leaders in the Natural Farming methods (along with Goseong County which we visit later). Licorice, angelica, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon are the ingredients used in the preparation of Oriental Herbal Medicine (OHM), used for plants, animals, and people - and by the way, it is delicious stuff! We sampled some of the fermented crabapple juice too - yum.
We had a very informative step-by-step tour of the Center. Rows upon rows of clay jars of all sizes hold various liquids, rice mats cover piles of IMO on the dirt floors, a vat full of fermented fish juice bubbles away in the back...There was a wonderfully illustrated series of posters explaining each step of the process for each of the IMOs, OHM, FPJ, FFJ, etc. I will write more about all these methods we're learning in a later post, after I get you all through our trip.

Our next stop was the local Farmer's Market which is held every 5 days. It was amazing! Loads of all sorts of vegetables. Stacks of shoes of every kind. Baskets & brooms, buckets & tools, clothes & blankets. Piles of fruits & fishes, meats & seaweeds, herbs & seeds, and so much more.
We all wandered about immersing ourselves in the marketplace and taking loads of photos.
It's hard to chose only a few pictures...
The marketplace was fantastic, and though I didn't buy anything, I sure had a fun time mingling with the crowds of Gokseong County.

Onwards! A short ride to a melon farm, owned by a woman farmer. Not much was translated for us non-Korean speakers in the group (there were 8 of us in this category), but the melons looked good, almost like cantaloupes but they're green inside like a moon melon... I mean, honeydew. She had them growing vertically to better utilize the space inside her two greenhouses.
Next, another apple orchard inside a "vinyl house", ie a plastic-covered greenhouse. These huge apples were growing on 2-year-old trees that reached the ceiling! The farmer plucked one off the tree to make a point, and then gave it to me with a little bow and a big smile. :-) It was so crunchy, juicy and sweet - and as big as two apples! I shared it with Mike.
Back on the road, I saw a few goats tethered to graze on the banks of a stream. We've noticed that there haven't been many pastures or yards of animals here; they tend to keep them in inside open-sided barns. Even the Natural Farmers that we saw do it that way, which doesn't exactly seem natural to me. We will think of a better way.

Lunch at the Han-Bo "Happiness" Restaurant, with hot red peppers drying outside. Another delicious spread of food awaiting us at two tables this time, instead of the usual one long one. I especially enjoyed the egg dish, the small salted shrimp, and the abalone. This day was so very busy, exploring more of Gokseong County... I'll do the rest in the next post.
Stay tuned...