International Students Complete Bucket-List Trip Along the Seomjin River
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Seventy international students joined a 1-night, 2-day "K-culture healing" trip in Gurye and Hadong to experience Korean temple cuisine, wild tea, hanok (traditional Korean house) charm, and scenic walks. The trip began at the millennial Hwaeomsa temple, where students tasted mild, ingredient-focused temple food and attended a tea conversation (chadam) at Gucheungam with a monk. They visited Ssangsanjae (a hanok featured on the TV show Youn’s Stay) for traditional sweets passed down through generations and made pressed-flower fans from local wildflowers. Dinner featured a warming mushroom hotpot and lodging split between the historic Ssangsanjae and Jirisan Resort. On day two they crossed the Seomjin River to Hadong for a formal tea ceremony at the Wild Tea Museum and walked the verdant Jeonggeum tea fields. Back in Gurye, students sampled popular local breads at Mokwol Bakery and finished with a calming walk through the Seomjin River bamboo forest—one student’s bucket-list highlight. Organized by the Jeonnam Tourism Foundation as a fam tour, the program aimed to let participants feel Korea’s flavors and aesthetics and leave with warm memories of Gurye and Hadong.
