The last thing on our teacher’s trip was to head to the traditional market in Jeongseon. The market is famous throughout Korea and is a popular tourist destination. The market isn’t always open and since we didn’t visit during one of the open market days it wasn’t as crowded. (Open market days are days of the month that end on 2 or 7. i.e. the 2nd or 17th ect) Some shops were still open however selling special tteok (korean rice cakes) or Deodeok bellflower root. My coworkers went around buying specialities while I just sort of wandered around trying to not die from the summer heat.
Inside the market place we had lunch. It was at a small crowded restaurant.
We ate a place of different types of pajeon or Korean pancakes. One was darker red with bean jam in the center and another with buckwheat and cabbage in it. We also were brought out Jokbal which is pig feet. Then lastly we had Gondre-Namul Bap 곤드레나물밥 which is a herb famous for its healthy qualities with rice and vegetables. The area is also famous for corn Makgeolli which we had with lunch (but was too strong for me to enjoy).
If you go to the 5 day traditional market in Jeongseon make sure you take cash if you plan to buy or eat anything.
How was the pig feet? Was it raw?
They boil it and it’s just all meat and fat. It has a somewhat sweet flavor. I like it. I didn’t know what to expect the first time I tried it but was fond of it after.
That sounds exotically delicious! They probably marinated it with something sweet maybe?
The recipes I’ve looked up tend to differ on exact ingredients but all include cinnamon. One called for brown sugar and rice molasses, while another didn’t have anything sweet added except for licorice root. It seems like everything is added together as a brine to sweeten the pigs feet as it boils.