The healing city of Jecheon (제천) 🤩👌

Hello guys, I’m ready to take you on a tour around the healing city of Jecheon (제천), located in the North Chungcheong Province, South-West of Seoul. I have a lot to say (#SorryNotSorry) about this city so I hope you can take some time off to read today. The trip roughly took us just under 2hrs without any traffic and a quick rest stop. It was part of a two days, one night city tour hosted by Funday Korea Networks. This trip took us to the city of Jecheon on the first day, followed by the nearby Danyang (단양) area on the second day. I will dedicate this article to Jecheon and later write about the Danyang experience.

Jecheon was actually quite cold when we arrived, and this is because it is situated at an elevation similar to Namsan tower’s height in Seoul. Nevertheless, this was quickly forgotten because we started the trip in the best way possible, a FOOD TOUR! YUMMY! We were also given Jecheon money where we could purchase anything worth 10,000 KRW but only in Jecheon! It was not my first time seeing this as other cities also employ this tactic to encourage visitors to purchase something locally from the area so I safely stored it away in my pocket and waited for the right time to use it.

It was close to lunch time when we began the walking food tour of Jecheon. At the first stop, we were guided to a restaurant that served one of my favourite Korean dishes, spicy stir-fried chicken (닭갈비, dakgalbi)!!! I knew I needed to pace myself for the four other restaurants still to come but I really could not help myself. The owners were considerate enough to make it less spicy than usual to accommodate for some foreigner’s usual intolerance for spicy foods.

Next, we exited this restaurant and 1 minute later arrived at a bulgogi restaurant. Talk about loading on the proteins! It was served with many special and intriguing side dishes. As we visited in November, the kimchi making season, we got fresh kimchi so the kimchi tasted sweeter and crunchier than what I am used to and I LOVED IT! Apparently, the more fermented it is, the less sweet, more bitter it tastes. I’ll keep that in mind next time I attempt to make kimchi! There was also a special pajeon (usually a vegetable or seafood like pancake) made from lettuce and buckwheat instead of the usual flour and green onions and other ingredients and an additional local corn side dish served which I had never seen elsewhere. Again, I tried to pace myself but it failed to work as I am a big fan of 불고기(bulgogi). The food was again great but I was starting to get disappointed as I knew my small belly was already full. The guide saw my expression and reassured me that it was okay to pack away food at the other restaurants! Oh, what a relief! 다행이다!

We then skipped along to a more packed buckwheat noodle restaurant. The food is called kalguksu (noodle soup) and it resembled naengmyeon (냉면) but was served differently. We added broth in the kettle and mixed our food. It had a distinct sweet flavour that I really enjoyed which was a good balance to the savoury food options that came before. However, I only managed to eat a small portion. We were also served with a special tea to help our digestion. This tea was really very unique. It had no taste at all to me at first but then it suddenly hit the back of my throat and I was like “what is happening??”. So, I continued drinking more and was amazed every time as the taste was constantly absent in my mouth but only sensed in my throat. Do I have taste buds in my throat that I do not know of? I was very intrigued to find out the secret which turned out to be very simple, hot water, 황기(yellow leaf, a native herb), 감초 (glycerrhiza uralensis, like liquorice) and your choice of fruit(s). Immediately, I knew what I wanted to buy with my 10,000 KRW coupon and we were guided to Jecheon City mall which was filled with local products like liquor, soap, snacks, teas, spices etc but I had already made up my mind and headed straight for the native herb aisle!

Then came the sandwich shop where savoury sandwiches and fresh fruit juices or coffee were served. This is a similar style to a shop in upscale Gangnam in Seoul but sold at a more affordable price. At this point, most of us on the trip had to ask for take-out and enjoyed the drink alone but we later enjoyed the sandwiches as a late night snack (야식). We then headed to the local market where we had street food, spicy fish cake on a skewer (빨간 오뎅). I am not a huge fish fan but I tried it anyway and surprisingly managed to eat the whole thing as the spice fortunately masked most of the fish flavour. This is a very common street food in Korea especially when it begins getting cold.

This food stall brought us to the end of the Jecheon Gastro tour and we were taken to Bibongsan (비봉산) & Cheongpung lake (청풍호) next.

As the drive there was short, my food did not have enough time to digest so I was glad we took the monorail up which was a slow 15-minute ride up the mountain. The monorail can comfortably seat 6 persons (12-15,000 KRW per person) and it was very easy to enjoy the views as we ascended, especially as we got closer to the peak. In spring, early autumn or summer I imagine it will be even more charming when the trees are fully clothed with their leaves.

At the top, is a spectacular multi-level deck where you can enjoy a wide panoramic view of Cheongpung lake (청풍호) and several adorable photo zones.

There are also time capsule boxes that are stacked on top the deck in a very interesting arrangement that makes for another unique photo zone. You can purchase a capsule and write or store something inside and place a sticker with your name and the date and store it away for later. I thought that this was a quite creative way to perhaps get people to return someday and I started to wonder what people had already placed inside those capsules. I always admire the creativity of Korea when I visit new places. We easily spent about an hour enjoying the views from this deck and went down right before sunset as we had other things left on the itinerary.

We had another wholesome meal for dinner although we were not starving. Story of this trip! ahaha. However, the food was quite tasty so I indeed found some room. We were served Korean spicy soft tofu stew (순두부 찌개, Sundubu Jjigae) with a vegetable rice and a plethora of side dishes again. We left happy and headed for the Uilimji Reservoir (의림기관광지).

We arrived and it was quite cold as the sun had already gone down. We quickly browsed the area where we saw many Koreans using this trail for exercise speeding past us as we leisurely took in the spectacular night-time scenery. We walked around the perimeter of the lake where the lights illuminated the pathway and provided a gorgeous night-time setting. This site is normally used to host the annual Jecheon music film festival but due to COVID-19 restrictions, all festivals nationwide have been unfortunately cancelled but I could imagine myself enjoying the festival in this spot with food and live entertainment with friends. Oh how I long for those times again! This cosy spot brought us to the last activity on our agenda for the day and the bus drove us to an accommodation in Danyang to rest and recover for the activities scheduled for the next day.

One important thing that was stressed throughout this food tour was the preparation of meals. As Jecheon is known to be the origin for Korean oriental medicine, they actually try their best to prepare the meals with medicinal herbs and locally grown products. That is why it is referred to as the healing city of Jecheon. However, there was no hint of medicine in the food and this brought back memories of my mother trying to sneak my vitamins into orange juice but unfortunately, the medicine taste was never quite disguised as well as it was in Jecheon’s food! haha. Our friendly tour guide also proudly boasted that the city has not had a single COVID-19 case. With 33,000 cases in Korea, that’s pretty impressive! I will remember this city for giving me taste buds in the back of my throat, wholesome healthy food, panoramic daytime views and a recollection of my memories of beautiful night-time festivals pre-COVID-19! You should definitely reserve one full day for casually exploring the healing city of Jecheon that requires no pharmacies because the food here is so healthy. Oddly enough, we still saw a few. 😜 Next up, is Danyang so stay tuned and follow me on Instagram for more updates on this trip! (See a brief summary of this article below, translated in Korean by Nikolett Korosi!)

안녕하세요?

여러분 잘 지내시나요?^^ 이번에는 아주 예쁘고 고요한 힐링한 충북 제천이라는 “힐링 도시”에 가봤습니다. 이 이벤트는 펀데이코리아네트웍스라는 기업이 후원한 1박2일 여행이어서 저희는 버스를 타고 갔습니다. 서울에서 가시면 약 2시간 걸릴 것 같습니다.

저희는 먼저 제천에 갔는데 그 후에 단양에도 가봤습니다. 여러분 관심이 많지요? 다음에 단양에 대해도 이야기할게요!! 꼭 읽어보세요.^^

제천은 서울보다 조금 더 추운 도시이니까 가을이나 겨울에 가시면 반드시 따뜻하게 입어보시기를 바랍니다. 하지만 저희는 아무리 추웠는데도 이 여행은 맛집 투어여서 저희는 맛있는 음식에 생각하면서 마음이 따뜻해질 뿐만 아니라 몸도 따뜻하게 됐습니다. 또한, 저희는 제천에만 사용할 수 있는 "제천 돈"을 받았고 그것을 사용하여 만원까지 아무 음식을 먹어볼 수 있었습니다. 너무 대단하지요?

첫날 점심에 닭갈비를 사고 아주 맛있게 먹었습니다. 닭갈비는 저의 가장 좋아하는 한식이고 맛집의 사장님도 너무 착해서 잘 선택하게 된 것 같습니다. 그 후에 불고깃집에 가고 불고기도 먹어봤습니다. 그뿐만 아니라, 저희는 11월에 가봐서 풋김치도 처음 먹어볼 수 있었습니다. 생각보다 더 많이 시원하고 아주 맛있었습니다. 하지만 저는 많이 먹을 수 없어서 빨리 배불렀습니다. 맛집 투어이라서 많은 음식점이 아직 남아 있었는데 저는 개인적으로 많이 먹을 수 없어서 너무 슬펐습니다. 그렇지만 여행 안내자는 음식을 포장할 수 있다고 해서 다행이었습니다.^^

불고깃집 후에 국숫집에 가고 거기는 칼국수, 냉면 다 있었습니다. 저희 맛있는 음식 후에 소화를 도와주기 위한 차를 받았는데, 이 차는 아무런 맛도 영향도 없었지만 삼키고 나서 목에 특이한 맛이 있는 것 같습니다. 아주 좋았습니다. 물어봤더니 이 차는 뜨거운 물, 황기, 감초와 어떤 과일만 함유되었습니다. 결국 저희 “제천 돈”으로 이 차의 재료를 사게 됐습니다.

국숫집 후에 샌드위치 집에 갔는데 저는 먹을 수 없을 만큼 배불러서 샌드위치를 포장했습니다. 이 음식을 나중에 야식으로 맛있게 먹었습니다. 하지만 저희 맛집 투어가 아직 끝이 없었습니다. 샌드위치 집 후에 시장에 가봤습니다. 이 시장에는 길거리 음식을 먹어보고 다양한 빨간 오뎅, 생선, 어묵 등을 먹어봤는데요. 저는 생선을 너무 좋아하지 않지만 조금 해봤습니다.

음식을 많이 잘 먹고 나서 저희는 비봉산과 청풍호에 갔습니다. 저희는 많이 걷지 않고 모노레일을 타고 15분만 걸리고 비봉산 정상에 도착했습니다. 풍경은 너무너무 아름다웠고 청풍호도 잘 보일 수 있었습니다. 또한 정상에서 타임캡슐을 저장하는 박스도 있어 캡슐을 사고 메시지를 쓰고 박스에 저장할 수 있습니다. 얼마나 훌륭하지요.

저녁 시간이 와서 저희는 너무 배고프지 않아도 순두부찌개를 아주 맛있게 먹었습니다. 음식을 다 끝나고 의림기관광지에 가봤습니다. 도착할 때 해가 지고 어둠이 내려서 날씨도 꽤 추워졌습니다. 이곳에 매년 제천국제음악영화제가 개최되어 있지만 이번에 코로나19로 인해 이벤트가 취소하게 됐습니다. ㅠㅠ 

여행의 첫날은 너무 재미있고 맛있는 음식을 많이 먹을 수 있어서 너무 좋았습니다. 저희는 제천을 "힐링 도시"라고 한 이유는 거기 만든 음식이 제천에서 생산된 유기농 식품을 사용하여 만듭니다. 그뿐만 아니라 음식에 약초도 많이 사용합니다. 그래서 제천의 맛집에 가보시면 비타민이 가득한 아주 맛있는 음식을 먹을 수 있습니다.^^