Making Hanji Boxes

We went with the PIEF – Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation 평택시국제교류재단 to visit the Wootdali Culture village here in Pyeongtaek. The location used to be a school 20 years ago, but, the local govt. turned it into a cultural hub where nationals and foreigners can go and partake in Korean cultural activities together. In this trip, we used hammers to beat tteok to make injeolmi and used hanji paper to decorate boxes. After visiting the Wootdali Culture Village, we went to a local Korean restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal of dakgalbi. This was the first time we had ever seen a pan separated into two parts so they could cook two different styles of meat, spicy and flavorful. It was a very nice meal that even our youngest children enjoyed greatly.

This cultural center is one of the neatest things we have been able to experience while here in South Korea. They have very kind and patient staff who guide the visitors through each project with ease. It has been a lot of fun impressing them with our tteok hammering skills and massive family size.

We have really enjoyed bringing our seven children to free events like these here in South Korea. It has allowed us to get to know our community as well as the people in it. We have been able to participate without having to worry about the cost of the events, the travel to the venues for most events or the cost of the food during the events. This fantastically free trip was put on by PIEF, Pyeongtaek International Exchange Foundation, a local foundation that specializes in bringing foreigners and nationals together through sharing cultural events.