Namyangju Soriso Village (남양주 소리소 빌리지)

Namyangju is definitely not a city you would consider for tourist activities when you're traveling in Korea. In fact, there are plenty of Koreans who've never been to, or never even heard of the place. It's actually a pretty big city to the north of Seoul, but Namyangju is still far from being one of the big places to go for fun. A close colleague of mine lives there and it takes her two hours to get to Gangnam for work. Since she's always the one who has to travel to do anything, I figured I would pay her a visit and check out what her hood was like.

After a 45 minute drive which really wasn't bad, I arrived at Soriso, a themed "village" which is actually just two restaurants, a cafe, and a few random landmarks. The parking lot was nearly full even though it was a rainy day, and after a short walk around I could see why. The place is filled with cute little paths, benches, and sights to see while you walk around, making it a perfect destination for a short excursion not too far from home (for Namyangju residents, I mean, but I suppose Seoulites as well).

Of the two restaurants, we chose "Sigolbapsang (시골밥상)," which means "country table" - country, as in rural/countryside; and table, as in a set meal on a table. Basically what you get is a table full of Korean food, but don't let the restaurant name fool you because the dishes presented are far from humble or "rural." First you get about 9 dishes of samplers, or appetizers.

I thought this would be it for the whole meal, as it was already a lot of food. I figured the main course (we ordered the barbecue duck), rice, and kimchi were the only remaining dishes missing, but I was so pleasantly surprised to find the waitress bring dish after dish after dish of banchan - side dishes that are distinctly Korean and are to accompany the rice.

You can also order the standard "sigolbapsang" and pretty much get the whole deal without the duck - or you can order a main dish to add even more flavor and meat to your meal. But even the basic menu still includes some bulgogi and steamed egg, which is more than enough protein for me. Average price per person is about 20,000 KRW, which is not cheap but well worth it.

After lunch we went to the cafe for some coffee and cake, and then we took a short walk around (short because it was cloudy and cold). Some photos I captured along the way: