From White Waxy Barley and Strawberry Fields to Pottery on the Wheel: Gunsan's Farm and Workshop Experiences

In Oksan-myeon, Seongsan-myeon and Napo-myeon, home to the fertile fields of the Honam Plain, experience farms where you make the area's traditional food yourself are spread out. 'Oksan Hangwa' in Oksan-myeon is certified as a rural education farm and runs programs where you make traditional sweets such as fried rice puffs, Korean confections, rice crisps and tea cakes yourself. At 'Pungnyeon Boriwon' in the same Oksan-myeon, you can make sweet rice cakes, half-moon rice cakes and barley bread rice cakes using barley, a Gunsan specialty.

At 'Kkanchimeol Dietary Life Experience Center', a certified farm in Seongsan-myeon, you can learn the whole range of traditional Korean food life, from making rice crisps, rice cakes and red chili paste to making kimchi. At 'Baegin Farm' in Napo-myeon, an unusual food experience lets you make your own yogurt and sausages from fresh raw milk and meat, by advance reservation.

For the strawberry season that runs from winter to spring, or for baking all year round, the farms of Gaejeong-myeon and Seosu-myeon are welcome. 'Best Berry,' a certified rural education farm in Gaejeong-myeon, runs programs where you make desserts such as strawberry syrup, cupcakes and tanghulu with the strawberries you pick. It is well liked by families with children.

'Seonhan Farm' in Seosu-myeon also runs strawberry picking, gardening programs, 'farmnic' picnics on the farm, and mini strawberry cake and strawberry syrup making. It offers both rest in nature and a cooking experience.

If you want to focus quietly and make a one-of-a-kind piece, head to the pottery and woodworking workshops. 'Gunsanyo Kiln' in Impi-myeon runs full pottery-making sessions, including wheel throwing and coil building, by reservation. At 'Tosuhwa' in Gaejeong-myeon, you can learn Goryeo celadon inlay, buncheong ware and comb-pattern pottery techniques while shaping a mug or a flowerpot.

If you prefer the warm texture of wood to clay, the woodcraft workshop 'Wollyeong Workshop' in Gaejeong-myeon is a perfect fit. Its woodworking sessions, by reservation, let you cut and sand wood to finish a pencil holder, a cutting board and a book stand yourself.

All nine farm and workshop experiences take advance phone reservations so they can prepare materials. Confirm your date and group size at least 2–3 days before your visit.

When planning your route, the key is to group places by area. Best Berry, Tosuhwa and Wollyeong Workshop in Gaejeong-myeon are close to Lee Yeong-chun House and Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village, and Oksan Hangwa and Pungnyeon Boriwon in Oksan-myeon pair well with the waterside trail of Cheongamsan Mountain. Kkanchimeol Dietary Life Experience Center and Baegin Farm in Seongsan-myeon and Napo-myeon link naturally with a Geumgang Future Experience Center course.