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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
'Nurimaeul Bread Cafe' Vitalizing the Farm Village 누리마을 빵카페
Deoksan-myeon in Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, is a really countryside. It rarely has cars yet there was a pretty cafe, Nurimaeul Bread Cafe. This is not a private shop but a public one run by a nonprofit corporation called Rural Community Institute.
Rural Community Institute formed a community for the purpose of independence of rural areas, urban and rural exchanges and circulation, and it's been participating in making bread with fresh ingredients grown in the country, providing a workplace and a resting place for migrated females, and establishing direct transaction network to provide safe and healthy foods to urban residents.
It was completely in the countryside where you could see old lady bent with age. At least it was in the downtown where there's a pharmacy and a supermarket.
I was told that the shop was built by people from village and the employees of Rural Community Institute, and the ivies surrounding the shop looked amazing. Not that it should overcome poverty in rural areas, I wish it would be helpful to resolve issues of being culturally isolated as the society becomes more urbanised.
I had a company but the cafe had quite many customers already. Given its location, it was surprising. I used to run a cafe in a city but this one had more customers than mind did.
Here, the bread is baked everyday. I can't say it looks professional but quite okay for women living in this small village to make this pretty bread. And it's tasty!
They were selling handicrafts in one corner that the people in village made. I wish anyone who need them would buy them all. The cafe had books and magazines so it's a proper place to take a rest from an exhausting trip.
I found glamorous lights, probably performance at night. Singing contest maybe? On the roof of the building, they made the window to avoid direct sunlight yet no need to turn the light on during the day. That's impressive.
I saw something that looks like a document. What is this…
Looks like tags for products to be delivered. Nurimaeul Bread Cafe also runs Food Sharing Cooperative Association business so they put a price tag on items that the farmers bring, deliver them into the refrigerators here, and the people who need those items take them out of the fridge and put money in the safe in cafe.
Farmers put the price tags on each item, rice, cucumber and pumpkin.
Then whoever needs the goods takes it, leaves the record on the book, and puts the money in the safe. Simple and smart, huh?
You could find the goods in the fridge in one corner of terrace of cafe.
Once farmers put agricultural products or processed foods they produced with price tags, anybody can see and take it after paying for it. It was a smart system that the producer and the consumer could directly do business at a designated place.
As long as we're at a cafe, we should drink something. I like americano but I wanted to try cold Omija enzyme tea! It costs 3,500 won. Omija and mulberry enzymes were all produced in this village. So they make profits, which mean more jobs for people in the village, so I think it's a good idea.
Wow~cold, sweet and sour, refreshing taste. I didn't know omija would taste this sweet. Yahoo~tasty. I finished the whole glass after two or three sip since I was thirsty and the owner gave me a refill! Thank you very much~
They they gave us a piece of bread just for taste. Regular famous bakeries make sweet bread and this one made me feel like healthy. Especially the Soboru bread on the top tasted amazing. I bought a few on our way back home.
All of the bread here was made of 100% wheat produced in Korea, organic sugar, organic natural eggs and butter milk, so it was different!! They also had a class for people to make bread by themselves, but you're going to have to make a reservation before you visit. It only costs 10,000 won and you will bring more bread than you could afford with 10,000 won.
It's cheap, isn't it? It's possible only because there's no retail margin because they're directly from where they're produced. Where could you buy such a big bread for 1,000 won these days? Even a small piece of bread in the supermarket would cost more.
They make and sell diverse agricultural products, processed food, and bread made with eco-friendly ingredients that make you healthy. When you get hungry and exhausted during the trip in Jecheon, why don't you drink a cup of organic enzyme tea, healthy bread and jam for a meal?
Small yet cosy building looked lovely as well. Ivies crawling over the walls looked funny and the flowers between then were beautiful.
These days, I often think that haste and convenience is not always the best. Especially during my trip to Jecheon. Winding road along Cheongpungho(Chungjuho) is far away from fast straight road. Take it slow, feel it slow, taste and smell it.
Address : 444-4, Dojeon-ri, Deoksan-myeon, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (
충청북도 제천시 덕산면 도전리 444-4)
전화 : 070-8901-0482
Telephone : 070-8901-0482
Operating Hours : 09:00 - 17:00(Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays.)
Bread-making Class : 10,000 won (Reservation needed)
Jecheon Naeto Traditional Market, Okjeon Dumpling 옥전만두
In Jecheon, we had cheesy pasta and meat so we decided to eat dumpling soup for our last meal. Okjeon Dumpling in Jecheon is famous among people living there so the price and the amount is reasonable! Plus it famous for its taste so I was looking forward to trying.
As soon as I entered the market, I could see the restaurant.
Dumpling is their specialty so their special dishes were dumplings and kalguksu(chopped noodles). My wife loves dumplings so she ordered Kimchigogiddeokmanduguk(dumping soup with kimchi, meat and ddeok) and I ordered Kalmanduguk(dumping soup with chopped noodles) since I like noodles. Oh, I couldn't see them on the menu but you could also buy Memiljeonbyeong(bucket crepe) and Memilbuchim(buckwheat pancake) at a low price so you could eat them together with dumplings.
The soup always goes with fresh kimchi. The common dishes were spicy bean sprouts and pickled radish.
My dish, Kalmanduguk, was served first. I was surprised by the amount. Well, it's a country after all…they are generous.
With chopped seaweeds, welsh onions, and refreshing broth taste like regular one but it is also that I've been eating since I was a kid.
I don't like thick and gooey noodles so I liked this thin and soft noodles.
It also had dumplings. Kimchi dumplings as big as a baby's fist tasted spicy and delicious. Once I tasted one, I couldn't stop eating it until I had to put something else in my mouth.
Then Kimchigogiddeokmanduguk was served. I guess there are only two kinds in this restaurant, Kimchi dumplings and Kimchigogimandu(dumplings with kimchi and meat). Normally, dumpling restaurants have Kimchi dumpling and Meat dumpling.
So this is the special menu of this restaurant, a dumpling soup with kimchi and meat inside the dumplings. Just like noodles, it was enough to make us full. Dumplings were small enough for a bite but the skin was so thin with FULL of ingredients inside and so were we.
My wife is ordering Memilbuchim, Memiljeonbyeong and dumplings to-go. Jecheon is close to Gangwon-do so they also have food made of buckwheat and we couldn't pass this thick Memilbuchim that only costs 1,000 won. They noticed we're from other city so they gave us some more for free.
Address : 5, Jungangno 1-ga, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (충청북도 제천시 중앙로1가 5)
Concluding…
Jecheon-si in Chungcheongbuk-do is one of three 'Sightseeing Cities This Year' among 158 regions(including si, gun and gu) selected by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (The rest are Tongyeong in Gyeongnam and Muju in Jeollabuk-do) Such that it has a potential to develop as a tourist city and has much contents. The places I visited are not all about Jecheon, only a piece of it. As it's a slow city, you should take it slow and enjoy everything even if it's small. I must say, it's a great city!
