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Start
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Uirimji
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Cultural Properties Complex
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Resort
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Villages
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Naeto Traditional Market
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Finish
Italian Restaurant Next to Farmland, Maison de PASTA 메종 드 파스타
When I go on a trip, I always search for good restaurants. Because each region has its local food that I can't find easy where I live. But this time in Jecheon, Idecided on pasta that I can eat anywhere in Korea but my excuse was that the weather was too humid and hot so we wanted to have a relaxing meal in a cool and romantic restaurant rather than Korean traditional meal.
Maison de PASTA restaurant was in Jangrak-dong, not far from the downtown in Jecheon-si. As I looked around the restaurant, I couldn't call it cafe but there were some cosy coffee shops and restaurants for young people to enjoy romantic mood.
I tried to walk up the stairs at the entrance and saw the impressive phrases written by the proud chef. I started to feel excited and had a feeling that the food is going to make me healthy not to mention it would be tasty.
It was around 3 p.m. on a weekday so it was quiet. I didn't expect much because Jecheon is quiet and seemingly a small countryside but the owner decorated the restaurant so modern. My wife said that all the places we'd had meals were Korean traditional restaurants where we had to sit on floor on every trip but having a meal at this romantic restaurant made this trip so special.
The vintage look, quietness and cleanness, I liked all of it.
There were no customers so the restaurant was quiet and they served water and menu instantly. Menu even looks pretty, right?
I checked flat bread. It's thin pizza. Since I was short of sugar from exhausting trip in such hot weather so we ordered Citron Berry Flat Bread. The price was cheaper compared with ones in Seoul/Gyeonggi-do. I wish it was more delicious as well.
If sweet pizza was for my wife, spicy Toowoomba Pasta was for me.
Bread and salads included in meal menu were served.
Warm heated bread was chewy and light that went well with balsamic sauce.
Salads made of organic vegetables mixed with nuts are served with lemon sauce OR balsamic sauce, whichever you like. Bread served before the meal had balsamic sauce so we chose lemon sauce for salads. I had a lot of nuts so the aromatic and refreshing lemon dressing stimulated our appetite.
Before pasta was served, they gave me two kinds of pickles, strangely it wasn't white radish but young radish. Sweet and sour tasted pickled young radish at Maison de PASTA added with refreshing herbs were crunchy. It was unique and delicious which gave us a glimpse of the chef's view, his research and efforts.
Second pickles were onions, cucumbers and stems of garlic. It was kinda similar with the Korean pickled vegetables. For those don't enjoy pasta, you could eat this pickles whenever you need kimchi.
So we had Towoomba Past I ordered. Just as he warned me about spicy taste, the red sauce made me drooling.
In spicy cream sauce, wide flat linguine noodles were used, and the amount was enough including two shrimps that are as big as an adult's fist, mushrooms and broccoli.
Cream sauce tasted savory because of shrimp but spicy at the same time but I couldn't stop eating even if I had to cool my sweat every once in a while. It wasn't cheesy so we could enjoy it.
Then Citron Berry Flat Bread pizza was served. It was so big at least for 2 people with citron sauce applied on thin bread(flat dough) and three kinds of berries including blue berries and two kinds of cheese were put on the top.
Sweet taste of citron~ sweet and refreshing taste of berries~ it was perfect with deep and delicious cheese taste.
Citron Berry Flat Bread would be especially popular among women and kids. My wife was so exhausted from long walk in hot weather but after this sweet pizza, she started humming instantly.
So the generous chef saw me eating spicy Towoomba pasta getting all sweaty and my wife enjoying the pizza, then he gave us two ice americano coffees for free telling us that it goes well with the menu we ordered. He is the BEST!!!
Maison de PAST in Jangrak-dong, Jecheon, has modern design, provides high-quality food at a reasonable price and the best service ever. If you tend to have Korean traditional food all the time on a trip, why don't you try a relaxed meal here for once?
Address : 2nd floor, 543, Jangrak-dong, Jechoen-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (충청북도 제천시 장락동 543 2층)
Jecheon Cheongpung Cultural Properties Complex 청풍문화재단지
Cheongpung located in the upper side of Namhan River is a place where there used to be a lot of relics from the Old Stone Age have been found as a cultural center of the prehistoric ages. And then during the period of the Three States, it formed glorious central districts of culture as a ferocious battlefield for expanding lands between Silla and Goguryeo. Even in Joseon Dynasty era, commerce and cultures were developed using water traffic as a center of regional transportation, but when 61 villages in 5 Myeons around Cheongpung-myeon, Jecheon-si, had a danger ofbeing submerged after the establishment of multi-purpose Chungju Dam in 1978, the relics were moved to this Cheongpung Cultural Properties Complex and formed again.
Jecheon Cheongpung Paryeongru(八詠樓), the entrance to Cheongpung Cultural Properties Complex, used to be a gateway to former Cheongpungbu and it was named after Paryeongsi(poem about Paryeong) that sings about 8 best sceneries in Cheongpung by Busa Min Ji-chang in the era of the King Gojong. Likewise, it was moved here in 1983 after the Chungju Dam was built.
☞ Paryeongsi(八詠詩) about the 8 best sceneries in Cheongpung goes like this.
淸湖眠鷺(Cheonghomyeonro) : A sleepy white heron in the clear lake is beautiful
眉島落雁(Midorakan) : wild geese gliding at the end of the island looks magnificent
巴江流水(Pagangryusu) : waves on slowly flowing water look grandeur
錦屛丹楓(Geumbyeongdanpung) : red leaves on Geumbyeong Mountain that looks like it is surrounded by silk folding screens seems wonderful
北津暮煙(Bukjinmoyeon) : fog in the evening at Bukjin port is unique
霧林種聲(Murimjongseong) : sound of bell in the early morning from foggy forest is pleasant
飛鳳落照(Bibongnakjo) : and sunset over Bibong Mountain is spectacular.
★ You need to pay for Cheongpung Cultural Properties Complex.
+ Adult 3,000won / Student, soldier(enlisted men) 2,000won / child 1,000won
+ Free of charge : Preschooler, 65 +, man of national merit, disabled person
+ Opening hours : 09:00 ~ 18:00 (Until 17:00 in Nov. - Feb.)
+ Caution : Food and alcohol is not allowed inside / Pets are not allowed
I'll get inside through Paryeongru. The sign says it's been visited by the celebrities on <2 Days & 1 Night>, KBS TV program.
When you enter, you'll see a millstone worked by an ox. In old times, there was a mill that was commonly used by people in each village. Most buildings and items displayed here were actually used in submerged districts.
Over the walls of sheaf, you could see a few old houses and they are all tile-roofed houses made of wood found in submerged districts including Hwangseok-ri, Dohwa-ri, Husan-ri and Jigok-ri in Jecheon, all of which were made in the Joseon Dynasty. I heard something bustling inside so I had to get in.
Ah, they're playing yut. In old houses, the goods that were actually used have remained and there were a few rides as well where tourists take a break and rest.
They reenacted the old kitchen and I remember seeing one in my grandmother's house in the country long long time ago. It reminds me of my mother and grandmother cooking for their kids while they were sitting in front of fire.
The view over the wall is quite pretty, isn't it? These low walls are friendly because you could catch occasional glimpses of what's behind the walls.
In the yard, the apricot tree was bearing a lot of fruits. Everyone picked one when they passed by.
The flowers bloomed on the tree that was just sprouting from the ground. There were diverse garden balsam and this seems one of them. I remember getting all excited about getting my nails done with this!
Along the low walls, I'll take a quick look at the town.
The benches were lining up behind the walls watching Cheongpungho(Chungjuho) and watching the Sugyeong Fountain from here was really amazing.
Cheongpunghoban turns on 162m high Sugyeong Fountain and it was really cool. It's even more beautiful at night with lights on. The operating hours are as below.
+ Sugyeong Fountain operating hours : 11:00, 13:30, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30 (Closed on Mondays)
+ Lasts 18 minutes each time, one more at 12:00 on weekends
While I was appreciating the fountain sitting on a bench, I raised my head and the tree had so many apricots that the branch was about to break any time soon!!! I gotta try one. ^^*
I was waiting for one to fall off the tree and there it is. Washed with water and ate it. It's sour and sweet, delicious. Really yummy!
I noticed that Jecheon has so many different kinds of trees bearing fruits. I could even see vines with bottle gourd. When I was young I used this gourd to get water from a well in town and these days they all use plastic bowls. And naturally, gourd vines started to disappear as well.
I went up the hill more and saw Seokmulgun(石物群) where you could see the traditional funeral customs in ancient society. As its name says, stones were gathered. Cultural assets that were about to be buried at Cheongpungho were all gathered here. There was a dolmen and diverse tombstones. But what caught my eyes were clovers on floor.
I could see Cheongpungdaegyo(Cheongpung Bridge) crossing Cheongpungho(Chungpung Lake) and when I turn my head I could see a part of the lake. The wind was strong that I cooled off entirely. A bigger part of this lake belongs to Chungju so its official name is Chungjuho(Chungju Lake) but around Cheongpung-myeon area in Jecheon it's called Cheongpungho.
Right across the hill on the mountaintop, you can see Manwol Mountain Fortress built along the ridge. It's a small fortress that is 495m of circumference, and I could assume that they built fortress since it's a battlefield where there used to be a fierce battle between Goguryeo and Silla in the Three States era. Considering that it is recorded that the fortress was built in the 13th year of the King Munjong in the Chronicles of the Three States, this is it.
That person with tight pants stuck in ass is…me. lol This castle is called Gumbyeongheon(錦屛軒) built in the 7th year of the King Sukjong era and used as Magistrate's Office of Cheongpung-bu. Dongheon is a government office in which each provincial leader used to work. You could even guess by the established facilities and dolls(?). It's fun.
The trail continues leaving Magistrate's Office behind, and the building in the picture is the entrance gate called Geumnamru(錦南樓). As you can see, there are two distinguished paths leading to the middle and left/right gate. Middle gate is for Busa, the head of the government office, and the rest gates were for people. If it was today, it would've been a big issue socially but it was natural at the time so I understand.
As the relics were gathered in one place it kinda was easy for us to take a look in a short time. This is Jecheon Multaeri Standing Stone Buddha, designated as treasure No. 546 currently. It did not have a roof at first but it was moved into the building here. There's an old saying you'll prayers will be answered if you pray while you spin the stone for your age in front of Buddha statue. If anyone's paying a visit here, you should, cause I did. No need to hurry right?
I'll drop by the house from other submerged district.
If it is this big now, it must've been a palatial house where honors with high office ranks might've lived.
In the yard, there's a yut, hoop and jegi for the old tourists to bring back their memories and for kids to have fun and talk. Everybody was into jegi. hahaha I could kick it 7 times!!!
Addrss : 2048, Cheongpungho-ro, Cheongpung-myeon, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (충청북도 제천시 청풍면 청풍호로 2048)
