With a new round of participants, it was an exciting time to kick off the first 2024 trip to Hamyang with Planet Zoom-In! During this experience, participants witnessed rural Korea’s spring season in full bloom and had the chance to catch the last of the cherry blossoms that hadn’t dropped yet. This trip was full of connection, experiences, and reconnecting with nature and we hope you will be able to join us for our next adventure together!

Those of us coming from Seoul who opted into the shuttle service, drove together to pick up our remaining participants at the Hamyang Bus Terminal. Together, we drove to a local restaurant to have lunch, where we enjoyed a delicious buffet with an assortment of Korean dishes. We then headed to orientation where we all introduced ourselves, made cute name tags, and were challenged with drawing a portrait of our new friends without looking at the paper.

After getting better acquainted with each other, as well as going over trip expectations, the time had come to check into our accommodation for the weekend in an adorable hostel with a cafe connected to it. Once we settled in and chose our rooms, we then attended the first cultural activity of the trip which was a traditional Korean drumming and dance class. A local drum master walked us through the basic rhythms of the region’s traditional drum style and demonstrated different sounds we could create with different traditional Korean instruments. At the end of the class, we were led in a drum circle creating great sounds together and tried our hand at the style of dancing associated with the traditional drum rhythms.

Following the lovely class, we then had a bit of free time before dinner time. A few of us went to wander and explore while the rest of us went back to the hostel. For dinner, we learned how to create Korean jeon, also known as pancakes. We had a leek and a kimchi style as well as other food options and it was a great way to finish off our first day.

On our second day in Hamyang, we had breakfast at our accommodations and got a first-hand taste of farming life in rural Korea. We found ourselves at a local apple farm where the owner gave us a brief introduction to the history of apples in Korea and the agricultural market conditions farmers face today. Not only that, but we also learned how the current global warming our climate faces today has affected many farmer’s livelihoods and crops. It was such an eye-opening experience for all of us and we had the opportunity to lend a hand by assisting the owner in tending to his apple trees. We learned farming is truly a labor of love! 

After helping out on the farm, we then had lunch at a local restaurant and proceeded to Seonbi Culture Trail. We encountered beautiful pavilions, valleys, rivers, and forests galore. Some of us refreshed ourselves by dipping our feet in the cold river, taking a nice reprieve from the heat. As we trekked, we were able to reduce our environmental impact by picking up garbage found on the trail. At the end, we then made garbage art and decided to make S.O.S. to symbolize we must save the planet.

At the close of our long day of activity, we finished our second day in Hamyang with a good old Korean BBQ with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. It was a delicious collection of farm-to-table ingredients prepared on a charcoal grill. For those who still had energy, a handful of participants joined in stargazing the gorgeous rural night sky. We challenged ourselves with finding different constellations and when it got chilly, we warmed ourselves by a lovely fire and enjoyed its beautiful glow, before heading to bed.

We were so happy to share this experience with all of our participants and hope to see you again soon! If you were not able to join this trip, worry not, as we have a number of trips coming up this summer and look forward to experiencing each and every one with you! Stay tuned for more updates!