DGFEZ – Road Trip Through Gyeongbuk

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As promised, here is the video we filmed with DGFEZ during the Lunar New Year. You can read my blog post about it here.

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DGFEZ – Seomun Market 서문시장

I got a chance to work in DGFEZ(Daegu Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone 대구경북경제자유구역청) again, and we headed to Seomun Market, one of the most interesting places in Daegu. I got to work with Matt, which is always a blast.

Seomun Market is the largest Korean traditional market in Daegu, South Korea, containing more than 4,000 shops. Seomun Market is particularly known as a source for textiles and sewing services, a key ingredient of Daegu’s fashion industry. The name “Seomun” means “west gate,” and refers to the location of the market just outside the old west gate of Daegu Fortress, demolished in the early 1900’s. It is also one of the country’s oldest markets, dating to a 5-day market held in the area in the late Joseon Dynasty. In the final years of Joseon, Seomun market was one of the country’s three largest markets. [Wiki]

Seomun Market 서문시장 1920~ Source

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District 1

• 1st floor: Linen and cotton, silk, dyed fabric, curtains, blankets, nylon, synthetic fabric.
• 2nd floor: Silk, linen, and cotton, hanbok fabric, bedding.

District 2

• Basement: Seafood, seafood restaurants, traditional wedding food, ddeok, banchan, clothing.
• 1st floor: Bowls and dishes, mats, towels, underwear, clothes, footwear, butchers, blankets, ginseng, teas.
• 2nd floor: Lingerie, lace, knits, socks, blankets, towels, sweaters, sportswear.
• 3rd floor: Textiles for dresses and suits, denim, corduroy, velvet.

Dried Fish/Seafood Shopping District

• Dried seafood, octopus, shrimp, Alaskan pollack, squid, seaweed.

District 4

• 1st floor: Textiles for suits and dresses, women’s wear, men’s wear, mirrors, clocks, imported goods, baby products.
• 2nd floor: Textiles for suits, blankets, socks, towels, women’s wear.
• 3rd floor: Men’s wear, women’s wear, swimming suits, casual wear, T-shirts, dress shirts, brand name products, leather goods, children’s clothes.

District 5

• 1st floor: Tableware, ceramics, plastic goods, utensils, tables.
• 2nd floor: Men’s and women’s wear, designer clothes.

Dongsan Clothing Wholesale Market

• Basement: Tableware, kitchenware, cleaning goods.
• 1st floor: Men’s and women’s wear, lingerie, toys, carpets, footwear, maternity wear.
• 2nd floor: Men’s and women’s wear, children’s wear.
• 3rd floor: Men’s and women’s wear, bags, fur, brand name clothes.

Lunar New Year – A Road Trip Adventure

Lunar New Year in Korea: Seolnal (설날)

• The celebration of the Lunar New Year is called Seolnal (설날) here in Korea
• Gifts are exchanged among family members and friends, so gift shopping before the holiday is essential.
• The main tradition of Seollal is called Charye (차례) which is performed early in the morning. An offering of food is sacrificed for ancestors, and family members pay their respects by bowing twice. Afterward, the food is usually eaten to close the ritual.
• Another morning ritual is Sebae (세배), in which younger people pay their respects to their elder relatives by performing one deep bow and saying “Sae hae bok mani badusaeyo”. They are then rewarded with money!
• You eat tteokguk, a soup with slices of rice cake, to signify advancing one year in age.

Our Road Trip! 

Matt and I got the opportunity to help out DGFEZ (Daegu Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone) with a few promotional videos about  the area. Our friend Yujeong helped translate between the Korean director and camera guy and was our tour guide for the occasion!

Our first stop was Andong. We headed to the traditional folk village of Hahoe, but took the scenic view – the cliff across the river. Hahoe Village (translating to “Village Enveloped by Water”) gets its name from Nakdong River, which flows around the town’s perimeter.

Next, we passed the Andong dam to a village that had been relocated uphill. It was perfectly restored and even allowed us to go inside and explore the homes. Matt and I got to have an awesome “sword” fight.

We had jjimdaek in Andong’s jjimdak (찜닭) alley. Andong jjimdak is a variety of jjim (a Korean steamed or boiled dish), made with chicken, various vegetables marinated in a ganjang based sauce. It is one of my FAVORITE dishes in Korea. It is such a comfort food in a chilly winter’s day. If you ever get a chance, definitely try it out ^_^

Hahoe Village – Andong

As you will see in the video, we got into a bit of a tight spot when we got stuck on a beach for 5 hours about an hour away from Pohang. We called a tow truck, the police and finally an Excavator. Sand is one dangerous element that you can’t mess with!

By Sunday evening, we traveled quickly to Pohang for some shots and then drove straight to Gyeongju for dinner – bulgogi ssambap (beef wrapped in lettuce and rice). But by that point I was so tired and drained from the day I couldn’t even eat much. The trip ended with an interesting sleep over at the home of the director’s friend – an artist who let us borrow his home and studio to record. It was right outside Daegu, in the traditional Korean style. What made it super special was finding the small art he had drawn everywhere around his home. It was quiet magical and quaint. And his cute dog was just adorable!

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Valentine’s Day in Korea (발렌타인 데이!)

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Valentine’s Day this year was a flurry of events! The morning started with Matt and I filming for DGFEZ. We did a tour of Seomun Market – the largest and oldest traditional Korean market in Daegu. It was a dream come true as I got to try on the traditional Korean hanbok – shoes, headgear and all!

Next, I met up with some chicas from the Love in Action ministry I’m involved in (in which I am doing some sex trafficking advocacy with), so we could share some love on Valentine’s Day and hand out chocolate to people. It was fun surprising people with chocolate and best of all, it was nice hearing them say “Thank you!” in English to me ^_^

Matt and I finished the night putting up posters for the new Daegu Theatre Troupe play that’s gonna happen next week. We went to the local bars that foreigners usually go to and went above and beyond our call of duty and enticed them to actually pose with the signs.And we found the cutest dog at one of the bars!! Here are some of the pics, along with our awesome new friend Brian and Haerin. We interrupted their VDay celebration but they welcomed us to eat cake and play darts ^^ :