Korean Cultural Experience In Hanok #1 - Dado & Rice Cake Making In Otgol Village, Hanok Village Of Daegu

Korean Cultural Experience #1

Otgol Village

Written by Eun Young Yoo

Travel Writer

The more you get to know about the city Daegu, the more new faces you will find. It is a popular travel destination that is selected as the Korea Tourism Awards and is a dandy city that is called “the city of fabrics”. Daegu is popular for making gourmets all over the country drool over its food. What surprises us more is its long history. It is the city of Gyeongsang’s provincial office that ruled over Gyeongsang province for 400 years and contains one thousand years of meditation such as Donghwasa Temple and Buinsa Temple.

There is a traditional village in Daegu that preserves the scenery of the past.

If one gets out of the city complex, an archaic village appears, and it makes one feel as if he or she has returned to the Joseon Dynasty through a time machine. If one passes by the locust tree standing at the entrance of the town, a forest of Zelkova trees awaits. The scenery is peaceful, and it feels like being in another world.

A stonewall walkway extends throughout the town, and traditionally tiled roofs dance over the walkway. Otgol Village is a traditional village with 400 years of history. This place, where the Gyeongju Choi clan resided, was built as the scholar Choi Dong-jib stayed in 1616. Inside the village is the ‘Baekbul traditional house’, the main house of the Gyeongju Choi clan. Built in 1694, this is the oldest private house in Daegu.

Various traditional experience activities take place in Otgol Village. It is more special, as it is a traditional experience enjoyed in a traditional house. Once you arrive, you change into Hanbok. Just by changing into a Hanbok, you become elegant and your walk relaxes.

Rice-cake mallet hitting is really fun. Bringing a huge rice-cake mallet above one’s head and hitting a rice-cake with it is really fun. Stuffing the self-made rice cake with powdered soybean, turns it into a delicious injeolmi. The rice cake I’ve recently made tastes like heaven.

After the rice-cake mallet hitting activity, you go up along the Donggye Pavilion and experience a traditional tea ceremony. Ginkgo leaves rustle down the backyard and the scent of the tea fills the whole room. You can forget about all the tea you have tasted. This tea tastes so good that it can even clear up your mind.

Traditional games like yunnori, tuho, jegichagi and neolttwigi are held in the spacious backyard. Putting aside your smartphones and playing just like the times when there were no TVs and computers is very enjoyable. In Otgol Village, you can enjoy individual experiences when there are no group experiences scheduled. It is good to call in advance and ask about the experience activity schedules.

▶ Inquiry and Reservation

    TEL +82-53-424-2237

▶ Getting to Otgol Village

   - By Bus : Take a subway line 1 and get off at Haean Station. Transfer to '동구3(Dongu3)' 

                 which is going for Otgol Village. Get off the bus at Gyeongju Choi clan.

   - By Taxi : If you get a taxi from Dongdaegu Station it will cost you about 11,000 won. 

▶ Address

    386, Dunsan-dong, Dong-gu, Daegu, Korea