CHUNCHEON, Gangwon — There is little question about what to eat on a trip to Chuncheon, Gangwon. The real question often comes only after sitting down before a sizzling pan of dakgalbi, the city's signature stir-fried chicken dish. What to do next? “K-Chicken Travel” offers an answer. The government-led tourism initiative, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Food Promotion Institute, uses local chicken dishes as a jumping-off point to explore the places behind them as part of an effort to revitalize local tourism. Chuncheon is one of four participating regions, along with Gumi in North Gyeongsang, Suwon in Gyeonggi and Jeju. Its accessibility helped make Chuncheon the opener for the ambitious program. The ITX-Cheongchun takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Yongsan Station to Chuncheon, while driving from Seoul takes a similar amount of time. The city is also accessible by subway, though the journey takes roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes. For Chuncheon, dakgalbi takes center stage. Developed in collaboration with the city government and Korail Tourism Development, its package tours run for a limited time in October, with five day trips on Oct. 16 and two overnight trips. The one-night, two-day programs sold out as soon as reservations opened on Sept. 10. The places on the itinerary can also be visited or booked independently. A view of Uiam Lake from the Samaksan Mountain Lake Cable Car in Chuncheon KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT But if one thought this trip was all about making the rounds of dakgalbi restaurants, declaring oneself well-fed and heading home, one'd be very wrong. Yes, there is plenty of dakgalbi. But the route veers further into a traditional brewery making liquor that pairs well with the chicken, into a forest where hammocks are strung between trees to sleep off lunch and toward beer made from one of Gangwon's most familiar crops. The Korea JoongAng Daily followed the route for an early taste of what K-Chicken Travel has in store in Chuncheon. Fair warning: Empty stomachs don't last long here. 모바일 10원 야마토게임 First, the chicken But before getting to what comes next, dakgalbi comes first. Finding a pan of dakgalbi in Chuncheon is not difficult. There are some 225 dakgalbi restaurants scattered across the city. But dakgalbi did not always come sizzling in the large iron pan — piled with cabbage, rice cakes and sweet potatoes — that most Koreans associate with Chuncheon today. The dish looked rather different in its early days. In the 1960s, when chicken was a relatively affordable alternative to beef and pork, marinated chicken pieces were grilled directly over charcoal. Chicken slowly cooks over the coals at Jangho Dakgalbi. WOO JI-WON That older style can be found at Jangho Dakgalbi, where pieces of chicken seasoned with salt, lemon or a spicy marinade slowly brown over the coals. The charcoal lends the meat a smoky edge while keeping it juicy inside. A serving costs 16,000 won ($11). At Ani Cheolpan Dakgalbi, which has been around for more than half a century, the ingredients arrive piled together, as in the Chuncheon dakgalbi we recognize. Ani uses no artificial cooking oil and presses its own sesame and perilla oils, which explains its clean-flavored dishes. Dakgalbi served at Ani Cheolpan Dakgalbi KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT The dakgalbi takes about 20 minutes to cook at the table, but there is plenty to keep you busy in the meantime. Start with the chewy rice cakes. Wait a little longer, and the chicken is ready to go, preferably wrapped in a crisp lettuce leaf. And when the pan finally looks empty, don't be fooled. There is still fried rice. Pressed against the hot griddle until the bottom turns golden and crisp, the fried rice ends the meal on a high note. Something to drink with it Dakgalbi has no shortage of good companions. But on a rainy day in particular, spicy chicken calls for something a little boozy to go alongside it. Hwajeonilchwi's CEO Yoo So-young showcases how to make a traditional liquor from a sojugori. KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT 바다이야기공략법 Chuncheon has a handful of traditional breweries producing a range of Korean liquors. At Jisiul Brewery, the question is which one pairs best with dakgalbi. At a glass-enclosed terrace overlooking CEO Yoo So-young's garden, participants settle around wooden tables to taste five traditional rice wines and distilled spirits made by Yoo, who spent years working with tea before turning to alcohol. Hwajeonilchwi 52 KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Homemade desserts offered at Jisiul Brewery KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT She learned traditional brewing from Park Rok-dam, president of the Korea Traditional Liquor Research Institute, who also taught BTS member Jin. Her Hwajeonilchwi line is made in an old-fashioned way, using only water, rice and traditional nuruk (a traditional fermentation starter), with a sojugori, a traditional earthenware distiller, used for the distilled varieties. “I first make a base brew, then add a second batch to deepen the flavor," Yoo said. The brew then spends around 100 days maturing slowly in breathable earthenware jars. “I let it brew at nature's own pace." The tasting starts with 12 percent takju, a cloudy, unfiltered Korean rice wine. It is soft and gently sweet, a sweetness that comes from using plenty of rice rather than artificial sweeteners. Next comes a 15-percent yakju, a clear rice wine, balancing sweetness, acidity and savory notes. Yoo also provides homemade rice cakes and jeonggwa, or candied fruits and roots, for nibbling between sips. From there, things get stronger. An 18-percent brew incorporates 22 varieties of flowers gathered from spring through winter. Distilled spirits range from 38 to 52 percent, calling for a bite of spicy dakgalbi between sips. Visitors can also watch the distillation process in a sojugori and walk through Yoo's home-turned-brewery, where liquor ferments in earthenware jars. Dishes made with locally sourced ingredients crowd the table at Hosu KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Participants try making their own takju KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT 모바일 야마토5 Traditional takju makes another appearance at Hosu, a Korean dining bar and traditional liquor space that brews its own. This time, though, participants get to make their own before sitting down to drink it alongside a table overflowing with Korean dishes. Oiseon, or stuffed cucumber; wolgwachae, a stir-fried zucchini dish; yukjeon, panfried battered beef; steamed eggplant; and assorted jeon (fried pancake) among many other traditional dishes that crowd the table. It makes you reach for your camera before your chopsticks. The spread is the work of CEO Choi Kyeong-ja, whose dishes are prepared from ingredients that are over 70 percent locally sourced. Dakgalbi's best friend But dakgalbi has a best friend that hardly needs an introduction: makguksu, or buckwheat noodles. Like dakgalbi, makguksu has humble roots. Buckwheat thrives even in relatively poor soil, making it well suited to the region, and flour mills once dotted the Chuncheon area. Over time, the noodles became a local staple. Chuncheon Makguksu Museum KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT At the Chuncheon Makguksu Museum, visitors can make their own bowl of makguksu from scratch, rather than just reading about its history. First, put on an apron. It starts simply by mixing buckwheat flour with water. Knead until a lump of dough takes shape. Then comes the fun part. Place the lump into a noodle press and lean on the long wooden lever, forcing thin strands of dough straight into the bubbling water below. A bowl of buckwheat flour and water WOO JI-WON Participants press buckwheat lump to force out thin strands of dough WOO JI-WON A participant mixes makguksu WOO JI-WON It takes some muscle, and sometimes the combined weight of three people, to squeeze every last bit of dough through. A staff member then drains the noodles and adds sauce, cabbage and lettuce, ready for you to have a bite. Maybe it is the satisfaction of having kneaded your own lunch, but somehow, the bowl tastes better when you have made it yourself. Now, stop eating This is a trip that keeps your stomach full most of the time. 모바일 바다이야기고래 Fortunately, Chuncheon has plenty of ways to walk off the food and take in the scenery. A view of Uiam Lake from the upper station of the Samaksan Mountain Lake Cable Car in Chuncheon KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT The Samaksan Mountain Lake Cable Car carries passengers across Uiam Lake for roughly 20 minutes, with the water below and Mount Samak and its forests rising around it. At the top, a cafe offers an excuse to sit for a while and take in the view. But after all that food, there may be something even more appealing than sightseeing. A nap. At the National Center for Forest Activities Chuncheon, visitors can string a hammock between two trees, tighten the straps and climb in. Hammocks installed between trees at the National Center for Forest Activities Chuncheon WOO JI-WON A view from a hammock WOO JI-WON Leaves shift overhead. Birds interrupt the quiet. With a stomach full of dakgalbi, there are few better places for a nap. The place was not always somewhere visitors could wander and enjoy. Until 2014, the site was used as a Korean Army training ground and was closed to civilians. Work began in 2018 to transform the 335-hectare site into a forest recreation facility, which opened to the public in 2021. Chuncheon Sairo 248 near Uiam Park WOO JI-WON Today, there are numerous activities available at the site, including forest walks, sensory programs, nature crafts, valley trekking, indoor rock climbing and adventure courses. At night, take a walk across the suspension bridge near Uiam Park, stretching 248 meters over the water. Just 1.5 meters wide, it has a steel-grating floor that adds a small jolt of adrenaline underfoot, while broad views of Uiam Lake unfold on either side. The many lives of a potato Chuncheon may be known for dakgalbi and makguksu, but Gangwon has another culinary celebrity. The potato. Gamja Island WOO JI-WON Some of the region's younger businesses have given the humble, lumpy tuber a makeover. In downtown Chuncheon, an old church has been transformed into a restaurant and brewery where potatoes find an unlikely second life as beer. 인터넷신천지 Staffers offer special beers from a beer brewing machine WOO JI-WON Dakgalbi pizza KORAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Gamja Island grew out of a glut. After recognizing an unusually large harvest left farmers struggling with surplus potatoes, the company's founders began wondering whether some of those unwanted spuds could be put to another use. That sparked an idea: Why not turn the potatoes into beer? “We thought, ‘Let’s make and sell lots of potato beer and solve the problem of potatoes going to waste,’” said co-founder Ahn Hong-joon. Anyone imagining a glass of liquefied potato can relax. The lager does not taste overtly of potato. Instead, the ingredient lends the beer a softer texture and subtle sweetness. The company has since experimented with other ingredients, including tomatoes, and offers around 16 varieties. It even invented potato chicken, with juicy chicken inside a thick, crisp potato crust. But it has not forgotten Chuncheon's signature chicken either. Gamja Island offers a special dakgalbi-inspired pizza. Both provide a perfectly reasonable excuse for another potato beer. Or perhaps a corn beer. The city has more creative ideas for potatoes. At the cafe Gamzabatt, whose name means “potato field” in Korean, potatoes masquerade as bread. Its signature potato bread is shaped so convincingly like the real thing that, at first glance, it looks as if it has been pulled from the soil. Tear through the chewy exterior, however, and a soft potato filling waits inside. And then there is the potato latte. It sounds questionable, but it tastes much less so. Soft and sweet, the drink has become another signature. But calling Gamzabatt simply a cafe undersells it. The cafe resembles an oversized grain warehouse, opening onto a sprawling garden with terrace seating and cheerful potato mascots scattered around. Inside, a small market carries potato-themed merchandise, including plush toys. These are only a few of the things that give Chuncheon a flavor beyond dakgalbi. The chicken is only the starting point. For more information about K-Chicken Travel and its individual tours, visit Korail Tourism Development's website. BY WOO JI-WON [] o a forest