Fresh air with the kiddos: Field trip to the Korea National Arboretum

Some wonderful Fall foliage pics here to share with you as I talk about my final field trip for this semester. The kiddos were sent to the Korea National Arboretum up in Pocheon, which is slightly north of Seoul.

Our day was blessed with little cloud cover, warm air and wonderful colors along the way.

You might be asking yourself, "What is an arboretum, that sounds familiar?" Well this is likened to a collection of trees, so in essence this park was a tree-park. What does every tree park need? A museum to enlighten you on the varieties of wood out there and it's many uses, of course!

In one exhibit they reminded viewers the destruction that Japanese occupiers left on the forests here, which was kind of sad. However, the organization of the museum was quite nice and it also had a lovely lingering smell of fresh cut wood.

Also in the museum was a gallery space with shadow boxes full of hand crafted sceneries made from wooden items.

After our stint around the museum we headed over to a greenhouse for some humid air and to take a look at some greenery.

The most of this trip was spent wandering through the many paths admiring the changing colors in the leaves, and mostly for me taking in the fresh forest smell.

In fact the fresh air and Fall foliage reminded me of my small-town home back in California, so I became a bit homesick and nostalgic at the same time. But the kids constantly kicked me into remembering where I was, and Fall in Korea is certainly a special time.

We enjoyed lunch in a opening under the trees, where unfortunately bees also had a good time checking out what we brought.

For the final leg of our trip we walked up a trail admiring the forest once more, before heading back to the busses.

Now is the peak time for fall foliage it seems, as the trees are in full bursts of color. I can't help but think by the end of next week the trees might look like sticks, and winter will be around the corner. Time surely does fly!

What I Ate in Damyang

While in Damyang I did my best to eat the local specialities. If you recall I was treated to some bamboo bread on my first arrival. After I ventured through the bamboo forest I was hot and wanted something to eat. So I walked around the city area of the town and found a mul naengmyeon restaurant (물 냉면).

I would say that there really isn't much I can compare mul naengmyeon with in America. Maybe gazpacho, the cold tomato-y soup. However, I have come to love this summertime treat and find it a very refreshing meal. The boiled egg on top is consumed first and then one works their way through the noodles and cold broth.

Damyang is well known for a certain Korean dish called tteok galbi. It resembles a hamburger patty just that the ingredients are somewhat different.

I have to say I could have picked a better restaurant as this one wasn't that great. I mean the food was wonderful, just I saw another restaurant around the corner that was more busy.

I have had tteok galbi before and every time I eat it I enjoy the charred parts that are salty and savory at the same time. My choice of side-dishes were ample yet seemed a little on the not-so-fresh side. I wonder if this is easy to make at home. Actually, now that I think about I've seen frozen versions in the meat department and fresh already-made ones ready to be grilled. Hmmm something to think about.

They are also famous for rice steamed in a bamboo cup, which I didn't manage to get as I flopped my order. However, I've had this before in Insadong and know what it's like.

Whenever you are traveling around Korea one of the best things is tasting the local specialities. That is one of the highlights of living in this country and which inspires me to get around more.

A Pension in the Woods

For my stay in Damyang I went straight for a pension. Sure I could have saved a wad of cash by staying at a hotel or min-bak, but I wanted to treat myself to a kitchen, windows and space. After doing some research and with the help of a friend, I managed to find this nice pension not too far from the Bamboo Forest and bus stops.

I found the 대숲향기펜션 and the owner gave me a discout to stay there three nights, so the whole thing cost 300,000 for three nights. It was a good deal and I was excited to have my own little space in the countryside.

The pension was broken up into a side kitchen area, living room area and then a separate sleeping room with TV. There was no bed and instead I used a matt and blankets. I didn't mind this as most Korean beds are hard anyways.

I especially enjoyed the large window in the bedroom and reflected on the fact that the space was overall bigger than my current house. I suppose you could say I played "house" for a little bit there.

Most pensions you have to deal with the partying that goes on by other people staying there. But this one seemed to have quiet guests who had their BBQ and then went inside. I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and a lovely sunrise in the clouds.

The outside area had a lawn, pond and a cage with bunnies inside.

They also had a cute dog tied up all day nearby, which I felt a bit bad for. So now and then gave it some fresh water.

The surrounding area, which I frequented as I went from the pension to the bus stop down the hill, featured rice farms and other countryside-sights. For instance, one person kept large dogs inside a cage all day, who enjoyed barking at anyone or anything passing by.

If you are thinking of heading to Damyang or want to get out of the city life and have a country-side experience. I would highly recommend this pension. Even for one person it didn't feel strange and the location is convenient. The owner doesn't speak English, but her husband does. However If you can't speak Korean enough have a friend help you out.

For directions:

Take the KTX down to Gwangju train terminal. From there get to the Gwangju Bus Terminal and take the 311 bus to Damyang.

Ride it till it gets to the last stop, which is the local university. Get off and head up the hill till you get to a large intersection with stop lights. Cross this and the pension entrance area is the first left. Head up this street and it's at the end.

Soswaewon Garden (소쇄원)

On my second day in the lush green city of Damyang I decided to head into the mountains to see the Soswaewon garden. Somewhat of a famous landmark and I figured I would try and venture around beyond the city limits.

When you get out of Seoul and try your luck at traveling around the countryside you can end up in the middle of nowhere. This happened to me as I tried to bus my way to the garden location. Using my naver bus-map app I was told to get off at a certain bus stop, cross the street and transfer to the 2-1 bus. Well when I got across the street I noticed on the bus stop sign that it didn't list the 2-1 bus. I checked my app and tried to see if there were other bus stops around. But it seemed I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere. To boost the sidewalk made better use for drying crops than for letting pedestrians use them.

I turned around and looked at my prospects for help. There was a store selling only fish nets, and besides this a police station. I thought I was in luck seeing the police station, as throughout my life the police in this sort of situation have been helpful.

I walked into the police station and there behind the counter were 4 police men sitting comfortably with the air conditioner blowing on them. I asked them (in Korean) where was the bus I was looking for and gave them my hand written note of today's journey (with Korean on it). They chatted amongst themselves and then one of the officer's stood up and said, "Ok. You come with me."

The next thing I knew I was in a Korean police car being escorted to the garden site, while trying to keep my excitement down. He didn't put on his seat belt and neither did I. Throughout the ride I tried to talk to him but my Korean wasn't up to par. Anyways it was a fun ride and he did point out things along the way such as a grape farm and a lake. I got to hear radio chatter on his system in the car, and notice the difference in people driving around him.

He stopped at my destination and let me out, and we said goodbye. But this was by far one of the best experiences I have had in Korea and I'm sure gave him something to remember too.

Entering the garden you first pay a little fee then head up a hill where you see a small stream and more bamboo trees.

There really weren't many trail markers and I sort of just followed other people around to figure out where to go. However, it turns out this garden is compact and not really big enough to get lost in. It comprises of several structures, walls, a stream and of course gardens with budding trees.

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Korean gardens are meant to be at harmony with the surrounding nature and follows a Confucian attitude built during the Joseon period.

So Yang made this garden to seclude himself from social position. The part of the garden was burnt down during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), but the buildings were reconstructed by his descendants, and the present Sosweawon was renovated by Yang Taek-ji, Yang san-bo's descendant in the fifth generation. An 18th-century map of Sosweawon remains. It is carved on wood in the 31st year of King Yeongjo (1755), and shows the original design of the garden.

For the most part you enjoy walking up and down the dirt path along the stone wall. As you do so a variety of trees shade your way and traditional Korean structures peek above the walls. The bubbling stream that passes through is a soothing sound for sore ears. Yet you do enjoy this attraction with many other people, and I think I got there early enough to beat the huge crowds.

For the most part I saw families and couples enjoying a light snack or boxed lunch under pavilions. Babies got their picture taken in the stream, despite their protests.

Overall a lovely stop to visit when in Damyang, but don't make it your whole day's adventure as there isn't much in the surrounding area.

I noticed these ducks in the stream on my way back and considered that they were quite larger than the ones I see down in Seoul.

When I finished up with the Soswaewon Garden I decided to walk down the road to where the lake was, thinking there would be a trail or some kind of place to look out over the lake. However, I didn't find such a thing and the hot weather was getting to me. So I headed back to the nearest bus stop and tried my luck.

Along the way I walked past some lovely farmland scenery.

At the bus stop I used my bus-app again to figure out which bus to take to get me back to Damyang or someplace familiar. Thankfully a young lady was with me and she suggested taking her bus to Gwangju. I did just that and ended up in the city, had a bite to eat then headed home. It wasn't the most packed day, but I was feeling a bit beat and figured I would rest in the pension (which I paid for).

During my time in Damyang I enjoyed the amount of walking I did, especially when I got off at the last stop and walked up a sloping hill to my pension. Along this walk I passed a hanok village which was set in front of a lovely mountain scene. Mostly, all that walking was good meditation to clear the troubles that were on my mind from last semester.