In Seoul, everything is automated, and the constant greetings of electronic appliances can grate on the nerves of weary travellers. But just over an hour-and-a-half away is Chiong, one man’s mission to preserve the old customs of his country and create a space where people can escape into the best of the past.
The traditional Korean home, called hanok, quickly became an endangered species as the apartment blocks that mar many a local skyline started sprouting from the earth. Whole neighbourhoods of these beautiful homes were razed to the ground, and the understanding of how to live in harmony with one’s surroundings that they represented was ground into the dirt.
Potter Kim Ho envisioned Chiong as a place where both artists and regular visitors could experience the way things used to be. Construction began on the hanok complex in 2004, with Kim devoting himself to traditional construction methods and natural local materials. Four years later, Chiong was born.
The end result, located in Gyeonggi Province’s Gapyeong County, is an amazing escape from the metropolitan behemoth that is the country’s capital. Its sparsely furnished rooms open onto the centre courtyard, and are heated by a true ondol heated floor. The ondol is powered by a real agungi wood furnace out back, where returning guests like to roast sweet potatoes wrapped in tinfoil. The smoky cosiness that emanates from the floor allows visitors to relax under the blankets with the glassless windows open and still be warm as they watch the snow fall on the curved roof tiles. One downside is the paper-thin walls, which can put you a little closer to your neighbours than you may wish to be.
The tombs of someone’s ancestors overlook the complex from the pine forest on the adjoining hillside. Artworks are scattered among the buildings, and a gallery features a regular rotation of local artists. Two nearby mountains, Unak and Chungnyeong, are perfect for a brisk hike before returning to lounge on the heated floor with a good book. Feel free to give Hyeondeung Temple and Morning Calm Garden a miss as the hanok hotel itself has enough charm.
Chiong offers a huge range of activities at varying times, including natural fabric dying, organic soap making, tea ceremony etiquette, traditional musical forms such as pansori and samulnori, and craft-making with natural Korean paper called hanji. Organic Korean staples like black bean doenjang are fermented onsite in giant clay pots, the way it was done before the invention of the kimchi refrigerator. They staff will also set up a coal grill for you in the courtyard if you feel like barbecuing outdoors.
Chiong is an as-yet little-known oasis of peace that takes the most pleasant aspects of a very long tradition, and serves them up to harried city folk who can’t wait to come back.
