Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Thursday 12 September, 12 noon. After a refreshing herbal tea, it was time for lunch: Sancheong Beef bulgogi with Mr Byeon, Min Hyang-sik and Min Young-ki. Not only barbecued beef, but in increasing order of difficulty, raw beef fillet, raw beef liver, and raw beef lung. I really struggled with the last … [Read More]
Sancheong County, Gyeongsangnam-do (page 2)
Selected publications
- Philip Gowman: Royal Ancestors and Ancient Remedies: a brief journey through Korea’s heritage, Korean Culture and Information Service 2011
2013 Travel Diary #25: The Hallyu 4.0 Experience
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Thursday 12 September, 9am. At the main entrance to the Expo there is a long parade of information booths and gift stalls. One of the booths was there to promote Hallyu 4.0. Hallyu 1.0 and Hallyu 2.0 are the first and second waves of Korean pop culture spreading through Asia. First came … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #24: Yin, Yang and Ginseng
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 5:30pm. Refreshed by our nap on the fragrant pillow, we move on from the Traditional Medicine Experience Pavilion to the Theme Hall, outside which stand the statues of the two best known figures in Korean Traditional Medicine, who have now made it into popular culture courtesy of TV dramas: … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #23: The pillow of eternal youth
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 5pm. At Korean expos, the emphasis is not on the looking. It is on the experiencing. You have to immerse yourself, to touch, to feel, to try something out. At the Sancheong International Traditional Medicine Fair and Festival, then, it was no surprise when the organisers, who had come … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #22: Tiger, Bear and herb: the traditional Korean medicine experience
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 4pm. In Korean mythology, it seems that it’s not the bear that has the sore head. It’s the tiger. In the Korean Medicine Theme Park, which forms part of the Donguibogam Village, the exhibits focus on the different parts of the human body, but throughout there is the recurring … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #21: Return to Sancheong
Unjusa, Hwasun-gun, Wednesday 11 September, 10am. It’s not yet mid-morning, but the temperature is already uncomfortable despite the lack of sun. Once again, it’s pleasant to get inside the air-conditioned car to head back to Sancheong. As we drive back, I give Sena a call to arrange to see her later that afternoon. As LKL’s … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #13: The Sancheong Oriental Medicinal Herb Institute
Sanchong-eup, Sancheong-gun, Monday 9 September, 10am. At the Institute, the chief researcher Dr Kim Yun-geun shows me round the various laboratories. It’s one of those scenarios where the guide has only a few words of English, the subject is extremely specialist and so Kyung-sook, who I discover later has been press-ganged into delivering the presentation … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #12: The recreation forest, and getting to know the Expo
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Monday 9 September, 6am. Apart from the need to plan my future visit to the Expo, I also seem to be an unofficial English language consultant for the Sancheong Oriental Medicinal Herb Institute, so I need to find out more about what they do if I’m to redraft their publicity materials. And … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #11: Mother Mago, the Goddess of Jirisan
Jungsan-ri, Sancheong-gun, Sunday 8 September, 10:30am. It is pleasant to sit down in a comfortable seat in the cool environment of an air-conditioned car. After the hot, humid exertions on the mountain I am happy just to sit in the passenger seat not wanting any particular destination. But just outside Jungsan-ri we turn into a narrow … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #10: Breakfast at Beopgyesa
Beopgyesa Temple, Jirisan, Sancheong-gun, Sunday 8 September, 8:30am. Breakfast is again in the kitchen, and as usual (because I’m a foreigner unused to sitting on the floor) I’m allowed to sit with my back to the wall. I’m encouraged to stretch my legs out straight, and pummel my thighs and massage my knees, which are already … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #9: Sunrise on Cheonwangbong
Beopgyesa Temple, Jirisan, Sancheong-gun, Sunday 8 September, 4am. It’s still pitch black. In parts, the sky is thick with cloud, but one or two stars manage to find a break to peek through. We set off up the trail, I with my head torch, and Mr Yoon using the flashlight from his mobile phone (he has … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #8: Prayers to the Sanshin
Danseong-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 4pm. After last year’s abortive attempt to get to the top of the highest mountain on mainland South Korea, I was determined to give it another go at a time of year when there was guaranteed not to be any ice on the path. As an added bonus, what would … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #7: Min Young-ki’s new directions
Danseong-myeon, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 2pm. We’d had dinner with him the day before last, but this afternoon it was time to pay a more formal visit to Min Young-ki and to see his latest work. When I had visited the previous year, he had been preparing for an exhibition of his famous tea bowls … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #6: An editing project is born
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Saturday 7 September, 7am. We must have done some good work on the Blue Label the previous evening, because I wake up very groggy. The forecast for later that day is for clear skies – good news for my Jirisan hike – but for now there is little but grey. In an … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #5: The official duties
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 2pm. After lunch, I realise that I now have to perform my ambassadorial duties. My sense of gloom is at odds with the enthusiastic spiel that I have to present to the camera. We proceed to the Donguibogam Museum where we meet up with a few people in an … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #4: Honouring the spirits, feeling the gi
Donguibogam Village, Sancheong-gun, Friday 6 September, 9am. In the daylight, I am beginning to get my bearings. The Sancheong World Traditional Medicine Expo is set in a 109 hectare (269 acre) site dominated by the dramatic peaks of Pilbongsan (pencil-peak mountain) and Wangsan (the King’s mountain). The natural slopes of these mountains establish the geography … [Read More]