The Hub of Sparkle!

The Hub of Sparkle crew recently took a trip to that bastion of Confucianism, Andong!  Located in North Gyeongsan Province, this place packs a historical and culinary punch that few places in Korea (or anywhere else, for that matter!) can match.

But how to get there?

They’ve phased out the dining cars for trains, and repaced them with spiffy arcade/ PC 방/ 노래방/ massage chair/ snack cars. Yes, that’s right, you can buy a beer and a lunch, go to a miniature singing room, then get a massage, and check your email as you take the slow train to Andong. Does life get any better? Probably not.

Some seats were more comfortable than others . . .

On arrival, the group’s first stop was the Dongbudong 5-storey pagoda. Dating to the Unified Shilla period, this is one of the few surviving brick pagodas in Korea, and sits right behind the train station.

Next was the real business of the day: eating Andong jjimdalk. This spicy dish of glass noodles, veggies, and chicken used to be scored for its connotations with poverty as “IMF food” but has since become THE food of the moment all over Korea, establishing itself as one of the major food trends. There may be restaurants making jjimdalk everywhere now, but if you want the good stuff, trust Fatman: You’ll only get it in Andong.

And in Andong, the best place to get it is “Chicken Alley (dalkgolmok)” in Andong Market downtown.
The market itself is a great place to check out, with lots of interesting shopping, and some interesting and delicious street food, some of which you’re unlikely to see being peddled on the streets anywhere else. Andong is also famous for it’s “mountain medicine (sanyak)” so keep your eye out for potent remedies plucked fresh from the local area.




But let’s get back to the serious business of Andong jjimdalk!
Fatman firmly believes that the only true way to experience this unique food is by going to Andong, but if you absolutely must try cooking it at home, check out FatManSeoul for the recipe. In the meantime, enjoy drooling on your keyboard over this:

Stuffed with all that wonderful food, the crew moved on to our next sightseeing destination: Daesamyo. This small shrine downtown was built in the Joseon era to honor three Goryo period officials who won reknown for their honesty, probity, and all-around coolness, and who just happened to come from three important families in Andong.

A short stroll brought us to a lovely new park downtown, complete with museum, culture center, and a 600 year old zelkova tree.



It’s a great place to chill, hang out, relax, and vamp for the tourists . . .

and make new friends . . .


Next stop on the itinerary was Imcheonggak – National Treasure 182, this is considered to be one of the most beautiful structures in Korea, particularly the detached pavillion. An old aristocratic house, it used to be a full 99-kan, the largest structure allowed to anyone except the king. Some of the buildings were destroyed over the years, but the remaining estate is still quite extensive, overlooking the Nakdong river. The main building has a plaque in the handwriting of Yi Hwang (Yi Yi) himself!

Save up your money, some of the buildings are being restored and converted into what looks to be a very posh minbak (B&B)

A sad story related by the caretaker: In the early part of the 20th century, the family became involved in the independence movement and had to flee the country. Before they left, they took all the utensils and materials for conducting Jesa (ancestral ceremonies) and buried them somewhere on the estate to keep them safe from housebreakers, theives, and the Japanese. Unfortunately, no one knows where the items are buried, and have never been found or recovered.

Our new friend then walked us all just down the road to see the very impressive Shinsedong 7-storey pagoda (national treasure 16, for those of you keeping count), also from the Unified Shilla era and the only remaining part of Beopeungsa Temple. It conveniently stands right in front of the Goseong Lee family’s head house, another beautiful example of Joseon-era large estate architecture.

Afterwards we took a short jaunt over to Andong Dam. This dam was built in the 1970′s, and many historic sites were located then in what is now part of Andong Lake. The properties were in many cases removed and reassembled in the park area by the dam as a way to preserve them. There is also a folk museum, an old kiln, a drama set, and the longest footbridge in Korea, Wolryeonggyo.

There are also other amusements . . . for a wide variety of audiences.


Dinner was another Andong specialty: Heotjesabap, or “fake ancestral ceremony rice” has two legends of origin. The first is that a tardy yangban came back too late for rites to honor his ancestors, but wanted some of the delicious food anyway. The second is that the poor folk of Andong wanted to copy the yangban’s elaborate festive dinners and this is what they came up with.

Of course, any trip with Fatman and Zen Kimchi isn’t going to stop at just one specialty dish. No, we went whole hog and also ordered gujulpan (nine filling crepes), a traditional court food.

and Andong’s other specialty, gangodeungeo (salted mackeral)

Andong sits on the last navigable portion of the Nakdong river, a major transport route for supplies. Mackeral spoils easily, and to keep it from spoiling as it traveled inland, port cities like Busan and Pohang would pack the fish in salt. The end result was that when the fish made it all the way to Andong it took on a distinctive salty flavor while keeping the oils that make it so delicious and healthy. The last culinary treat of the evening was Andong-style shikhye. Normally this is a sweet rice-based fermented drink, but in the town where gochu is king, it packs a sweet-sour-spicy punch thanks to the addition of powdered pepper and radish.

As the evening drew to a close, the group headed across town to the quiet hamlet of Hahoe Village to spend the night in a 200-year old home that has been, like many of the buildings in the village, converted to a bed-and-breakfast. The village itself gets its name from the distinctive S-bend of the surrounding river, and has been continously inhabited for oh, about 600 years. Give or take a few.

Fatman cannot conclude without mentioning the unofficial HQ of the Hub of Sparkle during this trip: Mammoth Bakery. As a matter of fact, it’s so wonderful that it got  its own write-up on FatManSeoul, so check it!

For more on the architecture of Andong (and the rest of Asia) Fatman strongly recommends the wonderful Asian Historical Architecture site.

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