Oriental Medicine Expo

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Jecheon City is located in Chungcheongbuk-do it is the only landlocked province in South Korea. Leaving Seoul Station onboard the TongTongTong Music Train we headed for the Oriental Herbal Medicine Expo 2 1/2 hours away. Pulling away from the train station the five foreigners on board tipped back their chairs plugged in their ipods quickly falling asleep. Excited about the day trip, James grabbed his camera and headed for the first train car. Passing through his car James spotted adjushi's (older men) around tbles happily sipping out of paper cups chatting and drinking with a bottle of bakbonju, a berry wine. Checking his watch it was 8:05 in the morning, laughing to himself, James continued onward.

Scanning out the front windows watching the two engineers drive the engine down the tracks he noticed a strange herbal scent floating past his nostrils. Looking around the room James spotted several white sashes with black letters scrawled on them. Opening the top of a bag revealing the dried plant bits inside. Taking a deep breath of the mixture James smelled hints of ginger, mace, mint and rosemary. The rest were undecipherable and obviously “oriental herbs” this was exactly why James was here, to explore the expo and learn about Oriental Medicine.

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, the train pulled into Jecheon Station. De-boarding the train, wandering through the complex and being herded onto the five red tour buses. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Expo ten minutes to noon. Looking around the complex there were five buildings. A bulgogi (bbq) restaurant, two museums across the street, a botanical garden, and shops selling elixirs, health foods and dried goods. Opting out of sitting down for lunch the foreigners began exploring the Expo. Entering into the Oriental Dried Goods Museum he was handed a cup of Sangseong Tea. The adjushi explained it as good for digestion. Digestion, James thought, well okay he pulled a long deep breath of the tea as he sipped at its dark brown contents. As soon as the elixir hit his throat his gag-reflex smacked back as his body jerked moving towards the trashcan, spitting out the nasty brown mixture. "What the heck is in this?" He inquired to no one in particular. Without an answer, they handed him a bottle of water, instead.

Quickly moving away from the "digestive" tea he scoured the room finding hundreds of plastic boxes with dried plant husks, leaves and petals. Moving from box to box, he observed their contents smelling through the holes drilled into each. One after the other, the scents disfigured his features. Unable to read the information, he snapped off a photograph. Finishing off the bottled water he moved outside to the vendors beneath their tents. At the first table he encountered a man selling "health cookies." Offering him a sample, James took a bite into a one-inch green cookie. Chewing the cookie its flavor tasted like cardboard as it dissolved into a chalky substance on his tongue. Coughing the salesman smiled handing him a cup water to wash it down. "Chalky," James said to the salesman, "it's very chalky." Then he thought he doesn't understand me, thanking him he moved past the other vendors.

Looking around the vendor area he realized the group had disappeared. Alone he scoured for something to bring back as a souvenir. Wandering into an elixir shop, the salesman approached dressed in a white sweatshirt and jeans. Pulling off the top of a white jar dipping a long toothpick inside, he handed it to James. James thanked the man for the sample. Smelling it, it reminded him of vegemite and it looked similar too. Placing it to his tongue he was expecting the revulsion reaction again but this time the mixture didn't affect him. It tasted more like molasses mixed with ginger and a touch of mace. Obviously, the other ingredients he didn't recognize but it wasn't bad. Asking "El-mi-yo (how much)?" Pointing the man walked him over to the display of 400ml jars sitting in their highly decorative boxes. The display card listed the price as 250,000 won ($230.40) smiling James let a low laugh escape. Smiling he thanked the salesman who handed him a piece of red-ginseng candy.
Catching back up with the group inside the Oriental Medicine Bio Museum, James was ushered back and forth between displays. The only information available to him was through the translator. After several questions about various topics he learned her English became worse the more technical the information became. Instead of continuing on this line of gaining information James decided to split from the group again heading in a different direction.

Watching the group move towards the restaurant, he turned right instead heading for the botanical garden. Once inside the building an adjumma (older woman) handed him a cup of tea. In English she said, "Hangseoung Tea, it is good for your body." Smiling he took the cup from her and moved it to his nose. Smelling the liquid it smelled 100 times better then the previous digestive tea. Instead of tasting it in front of the adjumma, he moved upstairs until he reached the top floor to escape the possible embarrassment of spitting it back up. Sipping at the tea, its mellow flavors crossed his tongue. Not bad, he thought.

Stepping inside the room to his right five people stood around a table with sandboxes filled with fertilizer. Watching they began filling small planter pots with soil burying a long slender root. Eventually the pot was full of dirt then they poured several cups of water onto the fertilizer letting it soak up the moisture. Moving on, he walked down another set of stairs sending him into the botanical garden. Immediately he noticed the increase in temperature. The trickle of water moving across a creek and the scent of wildflowers filled the room. Wandering along the path, beneath a tressel and out the far doors he went smiling.
Outside he spotted a caterer standing in the courtyard. Walking over he ordered “Hannah dobu jjighae kimchi jeʼsay-o, gumsamneeda”(One Tofu Soup with Kimchi Please, Thank You). Handing over his 2,000 won ($1.85) the caterer handed him a tray with his soup and kimchi. Finding an empty table and chair, James sat back in the warm sunny afternoon wondering what the remainder of the day held? But knowing as all travelers do, itʼs the experiences we are all seeking and this one is no different.

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