< Wwoofing in Jiri Mountain >
My experience Wwoofing in Korea was great. I learnt a lot about Korean culture and even more about farming. After living and touring big cities, it was really nice to be out in the country getting my hands dirty.
The Jiri Mountain farm lies in a small farming valley. There are many different farms around the region producing many different types of produce: strawberries, chillies and ducks, for example.
This farm produces chilli seedlings for growing chilli plants. There were thousands of plants in various stages of growth sitting on huge tables under the glass roofs of the greenhouses. There is a lot of work to be done planting the seeds, growing the sprouts and finally, packaging and delivering the seedlings. Most of our time was spent packing the seedling trays into boxes and loading them into the truck for delivery.
The host and staff of the farm were very friendly to me. I got along with them quite well despite our language barrier. I was trying to learn as much Korean as I could so it was fun for them to help me. Mr. Choi took me to his Nongak drumming class where I watched and learnt some traditional country style music. Mr. Choi also has a KTV machine at his home so we had fun with that some evenings.
The accommodation he had for me was quite nice. A small room in his home with comfortable bed heated by a warming pad. One shouldn't expect luxurious amenities while staying here, as it is a farm house, but none the less it is perfectly comfortable for its' own purpose. The food we ate was decent. I love Korean food and it was great to see what everyday people eat and how they cook; however, it was hard for me to eat some of the dishes. I don't really have a taste for fish so it was hard trying to not to eat it without being rude. I really loved the home made Kim chi though!
I did work a lot here. I won't lie about that. Everyday started at about 07:00 and ended at about 20:00; so it's not a place for someone who is a bit lazy. Mr. Choi is a understanding man, but since I didn't ask not to work, he assumed I would. He didn't offer me any days off to explore around the area, but I'm sure if I had asked, time would have been granted. It's just one of those things that is hard do talk about with a language barrier such as ours.
Despite the long hours I enjoyed my time there very much. I learnt a lot about farming and had good times with the staff. Everyone is very nice and friendly, especially the older people, they were so cute!
Overall, my experience was great but I would say that the location wasn't what I expected. It's not the most picturesque location but it is still quite peaceful and beautiful. It's just more of a warehouse and greenhouse complex more than a farm, farm that I had in mind. One will have a great time there as long as they stay open to working and spending time with the people even though it can be challenging at times. They really do care about the Wwoofers which is wonderful.
- Colin Nebocat