In this video, I check out the Icheon Ginseng Festival (이천 인삼 축제). Located about two hours outside of Seoul, Icheon is a small city with a lot to offer tourists and locals alike. The Icheon Ginseng Festival is an annual festival, and is worth checking out. It is held the first weekend of November.

Icheon (not to be confused with Incheon) is easy to reach by bus or subway. It makes a great day trip for those residing in Seoul. Icheon is well-known for many things including ceramics, peaches, and it boasts having some of the best rice in Korea. The rice was commonly served to Kings as it is supposedly that great!

In this video, we take part in a few activities at the festival, including ginseng fishing. This is a free activity where participants try to ‘catch’ a ginseng root, which they can trade for a prize later. We also look at award winning ginseng roots, some of which are six years old!

Ginseng is known for having many medicinal purposes, and is consumed in various ways. We check out two interesting ways of consuming gingeng, including fried ginseng and ginseng makgeolli. Makgeolli is a traditional Korean rice wine. Fried ginseng is served with soy sauce. It is a bit bitter and has a unique flavor. Although it is deep fried, it tastes healthy and nutritious.

We also check out some of the free activities including calligraphy. Talented calligraphy artists are on hand to write whatever you want! This makes a great souvenir!

The festival is worth the trip as it takes place during a beautiful time. The leaves are changing colors, and the air is crisp. The festival isn’t too crowded.

We finish the video by eating a traditional Korean meal complete with dozens of side dishes. This is a restaurant you should definitely check out!
We took this trip with the travel agency named KoreaTravelEasy as part
of their ‘influencer tour’. The tour was well-organized, and was a great time for everyone involved!