Gimpo Farmer's Day Food Festival  The city of Gimpo is famous for more than just the airport. There is a thriving agricultural industry there that is famous for their rice, livestock, mushrooms, fruit, ginseng and much more. It is located on the coast so they use a lot of marine products in their food and cooking as well. The area is also famous for their milk and they produce some quality cheeses in the area. Every year, in order to celebrate the harvest, the city of Gimpo has a Farmer's Day (김포 농업 인의날). It is a day of dance, food and festivities. They'll bands there and B-boys performing (at 2pm as well. ) At the festival you can learn to make traditional Korean basket weaving, rice cake making, and try a wide range of fresh agricultural products. They'll even have a liquor and makgeolli tasting tent and they'll show you the process of how you can make your own makgeolli. Oh, and they'll have a cheese making tent. Yes, you heard me; Korean's can ma...

Here is the official press release on the St. Patrick's Day Festival in Seoul. Dan Seoul’s now annual participation in the international celebration in honour of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and the man accredited to having brought Christianity to Ireland, will start off in Insadong in Seoul on March 19 One of Seoul’s most popular and widely participated cultural events will continue to be hosted in the city – despite the downturn in Ireland’s economic fortunes. It wouldn’t be March if Ireland’s national day, Saint Patrick’s Day, wasn’t being celebrated. Thanks to the kind support of Daesung Corporation, Seoul Global Center, the Embassy of Ireland and a number of individual and private donations, the 11th Saint Patrick’s Festival in Seoul will take place on Saturday March 19 in Insadong, Seoul from 11:30 am to 5pm. Having attracted over 15,000 spectators to past events, The Irish Association of Korea, who organise the event, are grateful for the suppor...

Was a Bust It was pretty awful. I mean there was very little food that you could eat, but plenty of plastic representations of food. It was also very small. There were only 5 or 6 tents for each section and there wasn't anything special going on. There was one tent where you could make dukk (rice cake) with dozens of screaming kids and then there was another tent where you could get a warmed elmer's glue like drink that tasted like...warm elmer's glue. Besides that not much else was happening. It's really a shame too, but I thought it was going to be a food festival. Instead it turned out to be a food disappointment. On the flipside, I got to see my good friend Lily and my new good friend Verena. We had our own Seoul Food festival and walked around. Dan

If people would like to meet up tomorrow, we will be at Gyeongbukgung Station Exit 7 at 1pm to go eat Korean Royal Cuisine. Later, we'll be heading to Cheongyechung around 3. If you get lost, send me a call (send me an e-mail at seouleats (at) gmail.com to get my phone number, I won't post it here.) I hope to see you tomorrow! Dan Click here to see more information on the Seoul Food Festival.

I want to go to this on Sunday the 23rd around 1pm. Is anyone else interested in going? Here's some more info. Dan The 2008 Seoul Food Festival The annual Seoul Food Festival is coming from August 22nd to August 31st. Join people from around the world by experience Korea’s unique culinary heritage in venues throughout the city. The festival will feature tastings and events at venues throughout the center of the city. The food festivities will be centered on Cheonggye Plaza, starting on the 23rd and running for the entirety of the festival. Come on opening weekend for opportunities to sample traditional Korean fare, and signature dishes from around the world. The weekend will also feature eating and cooking competitions and provide a great set of opportunities to get out and try some new foods. On the 23rd and 24th come to Gyeonghui Palace (located between Seodaemun and Gwanghwamun stations) between 13:00 and 21:00 for the Royal Food Exhibition. Come and sample dishes from the table...

Hahoe Village, located about 24km west of Andong, has become a very popular tourist destination, not only because of its beautiful location, but mostly because its residents preserve the ancient traditions of village life including the making of the wooden masks used in the local mask dance. The Hahoe Byeongsan Mask is reputedly the oldest type of mask in Korea. The Andong International Festival is held every year, for about 10 days, between the end of September and the beginning of October. Mask dances were a way for ordinary people to express their views of society and poke fun at the establishment. During the 10-day festival, diverse performances will be held every day to entertain visitors. The programs consist of domestic and international mask dance performances as well as modern performances, mime, and marionette performances. Dates: 26 September to 5 October Venue: inside Hahoe Village or at the Andong Gangbyeon Festival Grounds Getting The...

The Icheon Rice Culture Festival is a celebration of one of the staples of the Korean diet as well as its farming culture. The 4-day event offers visitors - Korean and foreign - a taste of Korea's traditional straw culture, the experience of harvesting rice, the opportunity to buy produce from a traditional market, cooking classes, entertainment, and much more. Many of the activities of either intended for foreign visitors or set up to be foreign friendly. Icheon is located just outside Seoul. To find out out to get there, by mass transit or by car, check out the festival website. The Icheon Rice Festivla website offers information in English, including directions, photos from previous festivals and the schedule of events. The festival will be held Seolbong Park in Icheon for four days from 23 to 26 October 2008. Please visit: http://www.ricefestival.or.kr/