Our Korean adventure came to a head today with a trip to the Kimchi Experience Museum in Yeoncheon! Inside the kimchi pot-shaped building, the team learns more about the 3,000 year tradition of kimchi, Korea’s national food treasure, and sees what benefits it beholds. Made with basic ingredients- cabbage, pepper, garlic, anchovy extract,and sugar, did you know:
- kimchi fights cancer?
- staves off avian flu because of lactic bacterium?
- the pectin in kimchi is good for digestion?
- kimchi controls cholesterol?
- the pepper, garlic and cabbage used in kimchi naturally control weight?
Wonders abound inside the kimchi pot!
A life without kimchi is unimaginable!
Finally, we follow along with hands-on instruction to make our own pots of kimchi.
Knives, aprons, and headwear are required equipment for making kimchi
The team shows off their kimchi creations
Taking the kimchi lesson to the next level, the team is taken to a famous local kimchi factory, Chungsan Kimchi, where we are told that Korean President Lee’s favorite kimchi is from Chungsan. Through large windows, we can see the assembly line process and are given the inside scoop on how kimchi is made. Cabbage from local growers is washed five times and is soaked in salt water for 20 hours. Then, it is thoroughly dried before being slathered in the red pepper paste, packaged, and refrigerated for 20 hours. One hundred thirty employees work at Chungsan and make 20 to 40 tons of kimchi a day that sells for $4/kg to retail outlets.
Happy employees at Chungsan Kimchi unload local cabbage
Knowing all there is to know about kimchi, the team is feeling a bit peckish and travels to nearby Dongducheon where we lunch at the Warrior Club on-base at USAG Casey. Taking up 40% of the city’s land area, Camp Casey and Camp Hovey employs 6,000 US troops and serves as headquarters for US Army Warrior Taekwondo training. Grand Master Mun-Ok Kim is our guide and gives us a tour of the camp facilities and a chance to see the troops training. A native of Dungducheon, Grandmaster Kim is an 8th degree black belt and oversees the martial arts training of 18,000 troops throughout the US Army. In October, Mr. Kim will will travel to the US with the demonstration team to show their expert skills.
The GSE Team with Grandmaster Kim
Sent off with a warm goodbye, we then head to a chilly walk through a local outdoor flea market to see a variety of vendors that sell foodstuffs and other drygoods.
Cooked silkworms are a treat on the street
Krista is the first to brave the worm
Ryan second guesses his decision to try the silkworm
Following the Euijungbu Rotary Club meeting, the team is treated to a duck dinner before heading out to another round of noribahng.
Krista doesn't duck at the chance to eat duck
Carey and Ana boogie down at noribahng
