Heritage Village in Andong — A One-Night Healing Trip to Geumso Village
Just 20 minutes from downtown Andong, Geumso Village offers hemp weaving, homemade makgeolli, an Andong-style braised chicken cooking class, and an outdoor village movie night. A one-night trip to experience the village's own 'In the Mood for Love.'
Heritage Village in Andong — A One-Night Healing Trip to Geumso Village, Andong
Geumso Village is just a 20-minute drive from downtown Andong. From andongpo (traditional hemp cloth) to making handcrafted makgeolli, an Andong-style braised chicken cooking class, and even a village movie screening — I went to Geumso Village to experience its own version of ‘In the Mood for Love.’
Words & Photos Kim Gwansu
About a 20-minute drive from downtown Andong brings you to Geumso Village. It's the village that has preserved and passed down andongpo weaving, designated as Gyeongsangbuk-do Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 1 and National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 140. Andongpo refers to hemp cloth made from hemp grown in the Andong region of Gyeongsangbuk-do, produced through the entire process of *saengnaengi (生布) hemp weaving. Hemp cloth is a summer fabric prized for its fine weave, beautiful color, and breathability, beloved for over a thousand years. Among all hemp cloth, that of Geumso Village is considered the finest in the country. Living up to its reputation as the nation's top hemp-producing region, the village was recently designated a Hemp Regulation-Free Special Zone, and development of industrial and medical hemp products is now actively underway alongside traditional andongpo weaving.
* A method in which dried hemp bark is stripped of its outer layer and the inner bark is selected and spun. Compared to hemp woven using the ingnaengi method, it produces cloth that is darker in color, finer in texture, and more durable.
Geumso Village was once called ‘Geumyang (錦陽),’ meaning a sunny, fertile land. ‘Geumyangyeonhwa: A One-Night Village Vacation in Geumso Village’ is a travel program inspired by the village's old name and the film ‘In the Mood for Love’ (華樣年華). It's meant to capture both the villagers' wish that visitors experience their most beautiful moment here and carry that lingering feeling deep in their hearts, and the elders' hope that the village's own ‘geumyangyeonhwa’ — its fading andongpo tradition — might be revived and remembered.
After dropping off my bags at the traditional hanok that would serve as my lodging for the trip, I set out for a walk around the village. Geumso Village blends an exotic atmosphere reminiscent of some small Japanese town, the quiet charm unique to hanok villages, and the unmistakable feel of ‘real countryside.’ Add to that the charming waterway winding between alleys, handmade lanterns crafted from leftover hemp fiber, hemp threads laid out in yards, and hand-written signposts — and you get the distinct impression that is Geumso Village.
Just as hunger begins to set in, a cooking class begins at the village's old mill. It's time to make and taste Andong-style braised chicken with a local chef, using ingredients grown right in the village. It's a unique way to add your own personal touch to one of Andong's most essential local dishes. Made using the recipe of a chef who runs a well-known restaurant in Andong, this braised chicken tastes quite different from the version you'd find in Seoul. By the end, you walk away not only with a great recipe you can use back home, but also with a memorable travel experience.
Even after dinner, geumyangyeonhwa continues. It's a rare chance to make your own handcrafted makgeolli with the third-generation head of the 114-year-old Imha Brewery, using the fine water and nuruk (fermentation starter) and steamed rice of ‘Geumsu’ (錦水, another old name for Geumso Village, meaning the stream flowing in front of the village is as beautiful as silk) and steamed rice. You get to keep the makgeolli you made as a souvenir of the trip, and as a bonus, you even get to try wonju — the pure, undiluted rice wine that only brewery workers usually get to taste.
As dusk falls, we move to the courtyard of the hanok. Using a plain white bedsheet as a screen, an animated film introducing Geumso Village is played. A screen fluttering in the autumn breeze — what a wonderfully unusual idea. The story of a minnow living in the village's irrigation ditch traveling through Geumso Village, along with its adorable characters, keeps everyone more focused than ever throughout the screening.
The final program is ‘bulmeong-byeolmeong,’ an experience that makes a countryside night all the more romantic. This isn't your average campfire or casual fire-gazing. Under the sparkling stars and moonlight, you build a bonfire and gather closely together to share the stories you've long wanted to tell someone else — or yourself. There's nothing quite like the taste of grilled garae-tteok (rice cake skewers) roasted over the fire after finally letting go of the thoughts you've carried in your heart for so long.
The next morning, after filling up on a countryside-style breakfast buffet, I head to the training center of the Andongpo Weaving Village Preservation Association. It's here that you can meet the ‘andongpo grandmothers,’ who are struggling to keep the tradition of andongpo hemp clothing alive. Talking with these elders — who married into Geumso Village and have lived alongside andongpo for so many years — only deepens my wish to support them and their craft. The trip wraps up with a cup of flower petal tea at Hwamok Café, which opens only on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the spirit of ‘harmony within the village.’ It strikes me that this would be a wonderful place to return to whenever my heart feels empty, or whenever I want to share what's in it with someone else.
