Holiday Journal

• Start
•  
• Soswaewon
•  
• Myeongokheon Garden
•  
• Original Changpyeong Pork Tripe and Intestine Soup with Rice
•  
• Samjinae village
•  
• Metasequoia Road
•  
• Meta-Province
•  
• Soarejone
•  
• Dalbittturak
•  
• Jungnogwon Bamboo Garden
•  
• Gwanbangjerim Forest
•  
• Ttukbang noodles
•  
• Yongheungsa Temple
•  
• Finish

I was so interested in Samjinae village during the trip to Damyang. It is the first slow city in Asia. Just the thought of walking the old street makes my heart flutter. However, the village has been gradually dilapidated for the last 16 years since the slow city designation. I am wonder whether it has become a slow city or it is deserted due to the indifference and support shortage. You can see a lot of old houses in tourism information booklet and many road signs. But only Go Jeong-ju house is open. Most open houses are charged or B&B. Anyways, I can see old wall and alley. Now, here we go!

There is no parking lot near old houses, so you should park your car on the street nearby rice paddy. The offspring of Changpyeong Go mainly live in Samjinae village. You can find it in doorplates of local people.

I am going to take a walk around the outside road before entering the alley. This is a Korean restaurant named “Gapeulwon”. The wall and front entrance are so classical. But it was not open, unfortunately. I will just look around the building beyond the wall. The garden is wonderful. An important person must have lived in the house in the past.

I can see a big pavilion beyond the rice paddy in the center of the village. It is called “Namguekroo”, and it doesn't have a plaque. The word “No. 3 local tangible cultural asset is written on the signboard. The pavilion on flatland is quite huge. It was built by 30 local people in 1830. They call it “Yangrojeong”. It may be a rest area for senior citizens.

You can see a pretty alley in the middle of the road. I am looking forward to seeing a wonderful scenery. It is not crowded with people as it is winter. I like it.

House with stone walls is equipped with pretty wooden dolls. People produce and consume goods and service fastly in the modern society. Even though it is inconvenient, some people try to live within the nature. We should think about this.

The village is quiet on weekday in cold winter. Only ditch water flows actively in the wide alley. No car. No people. The village is totally quiet.

Even though it is winter, beautiful flowers are about to blossom. Spring is coming. This is the old house of Go Jae-seon. But I cannot enter it because it is closed.

There is a distinctive B&B house decorated with abalone shell. Damyang is famous for Korean traditional sweets and cookies and Ssaryeot as it produces a lot of rice. You can buy them here. I bought some Korean traditional sweets and cookies in Damyang, and it was very delicious. I presented them to my parents. They like them,too.

When I entered the road to go back, I found a dreary deserted house. There is dense bamboo forest on the back side, and grass in the yard. The soil looks so fertile. Someone might lived happy with their family, right?

Now I can find a tall gate. That is the old house of Go Jeong-ju who established Changheunguisook, the predecessor of Changpyeong Elementary School in Damyang. It has significant historical value in that it was the origin of the racial movement in the Late Period of Chosun. You would notice that the house is not common when you see the tall gate.

Korean houses are so extraordinary. Dokrakdang, the house that I stayed in Gyeongju, doesn't allow you to see the inside of house. And you cannot enter the main building and a detached house at once. The old house of Go Jeong-ju is the same. Old pine tree is standing in front of the entrace.

There is the signboard saying “Be careful of dropping roof tile”. It seems that the house has not been restored for a long time. Some roof tiles of a tall gate has been all destroyed. Others seems to be fragile. There is the detached house named “Yookhyodang”, and its roof seems to be not strong enough. The house has large room and fine pillars, but it cannot stop time.

A huge pomegranate tree is standing on the corner of yard. I hope spring to come early in the old house of Go Jeong-ju.

I wanted to visit production company of hangwa(Korean traditional sweets and cookies) in Samjinae village, but it was closed. So I visited Changpyeong market nearby. There was Sujeong hangwa stand in the market.

This is barley malt. It is used when making yeot(Korean hard taffy) or sikhye(sweet rice drink). Barley malt is made of barley or wheat.

Old yeot is being sold. Do you know “a taffy-breaking game”? The winner is those who have yeot with big hole or many holes. I remember when I played a taffy-breaking game with my friends.

I drank a bottle of bamboo leaf alcohole with hangwa and yakgwa(cookies made with flour, sesame oil, honey, rice wine, cinnamon and ginger juice) at that night. Hangwa and yakgwa were not so sweet but aromatic. I loved them. Yakgwa is a little bit different from ordinary yakgwa. Why don't you buy a sack of hangwa, and take a walk in Samjinae village in Damyang? It would be an unforgettable memory.

+Address: Dolgamgil 56-24, Changpyeong-myeon, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do

+Admission fee, parking fee: free