Day 1: Incheon airport, Korean Folk Village and Chungju

We arrived to Incheon airport today and we met our welcoming committee. 

 

GSE team from Finland and welcome committee from South Korea.

We took plenty of photos and then headed to Korean Folk Village similar to Helsinki's Seurasaari open air museum. Area of the Folk Village Park was enormous and there we lot of activities. The funniest and craziest thing was a ghost ride on amusement area of the park. This is not definitely so folky stuff but interesting and just reminds us how spiritualized country Korea is. It really reminded Linnanmäki's ghost ride. Folk village was really interesting are including local food and activities based on old folk traditions, like pottery making, straw rice bag making, dyeing experience, herbal tee house, wooden craft workshop, Buddhist temple, mask making, traditional wedding show etc. There is also situated plenty of building that has been built old traditional way.

 

We also tasted rice wine (Makgeolli) that reminds me somehow too old milk or strange beer (kilju). But it was actually really tasty. 

After the park we had traditional lunch with the wide variation of the Korean small dishes. Plenty of everything; fish, beef, kimchi, tofu, veggie stuff, octopus, rice in three different ways - you name it.

 

Lunch table after we finished it.

Finally in the bus we had time to have a nap while we headed to our cosy hotel for the first night in Chungju city. Chungju city is famous for three or four things: it is the place where the current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spent his childhood, here is every year held a big apple festival - everything related apples available, also once in a year here is World Martial Arts festival (check more: www.martialarts.co.kr). In Chungju there is situated also artificial Chungju Lake and to get to know it better you can participate some of the cruises that are set there every day.

We will also have welcome dinner this evening so have to rest now for the evening gathering. I let someone else report about the dinner or I will do it tomorrow.

Potteries and reflection from Korean Folk Village