Kim Young-cheol's Neighborhood Tour [Tasty Suda Downtown - Jeju City Geonip-dong, Ildo-dong] ▲ The silver waves that fill Jeju Port, the taste of fresh Jeju silver hairtail Jeju Port is full of energy from early morning. The ships that come into Jeju Port West Dock after an overnight operation are full of hairtail. Jeju silver hairtail is in season from July to October. Kim Young-cheol watches the ships loaded with hairtail anchoring, and among them, he meets the captain who is busily moving the hairtail. Most of the hairtail that comes into the West Dock is moved to the auction house, and the silver hairtail auction begins. The 'Sparkling Market' that opens at the same time as the dawn auction drew Kim Young-cheol's steps. When a ship comes into Jeju Port, they buy the fish that they caught right away and sell them at a low retail price at a stall. It is called the 'Sparkling Market' because it is open from 6 to 9 in the morning. There, Kim Soon-sim, who has been in the business for a long time, was treated to fresh hairtail sashimi. The taste of fresh silver hairtail caught in the Jeju sea makes you smile. ▲ The taste of sharing practiced in a neighborhood full of history and stories The old downtown, Geonip-dong and Ildo-dong, accepted new cultures faster than other places because of Jeju Port. People settled around Sanjicheon, which runs through the old downtown and connects to the Jeju sea. If you walk around Sanjicheon, you can see various buildings that contain Jeju history. Among them, Kim Young-cheol visits the 'Go Family House'. Built during the Japanese colonial period, it is an old house with a Japanese style building, but the layout of the house is traditional Jeju style. It is said that it has now been reborn as a bookstore and a guest house that anyone can use freely. Kim Young-cheol, who was looking around the house, sits down in a corner of the house and slowly catches his breath. Geonip-dong, which was the gateway to Jeju Island during the Joseon Dynasty, is said to have had many guest houses, and the guest house of Jeju merchant Kim Man-deok is representative of them. Kim Man-deok is a Joseon Dynasty figure who gave away all his wealth to give away grain when there was a famine in Jeju. It is said that the residents of the Kim Man-deok guesthouse built in Geonip-dong, where the merchant Kim Man-deok was active, practice the spirit of sharing by making Jeju local food 'bingtteok' and giving it to people for free. What does Jeju 'bingtteok', filled with the kindness of the residents, taste like? ▲ A taste of memories made by Jeju grandmothers While walking through a residential area, Kim Young-cheol discovers a house with pretty bellflowers in bloom. When he looks into the house beyond the fence, he sees Jeju grandmothers gathered there. Kim Young-cheol goes into the grandmother's house after hearing that they are making 'shindari'. 'Shindari' is a traditional Jeju drink that is a fermented drink made from stale rice during difficult times. It is said that it was made in difficult times when people could not throw away leftover rice, and it was a drink that filled hungry stomachs during farming in the past. Even now, the grandmothers cannot forget the taste and make it together. Kim Young-cheol makes shindari with the grandmothers and listens to the warm old stories they tell. ▲ Traditional flavors at Dongmun Market, Jeju’s representative traditional market Dongmun Market, Jeju’s representative traditional market that was able to continue to grow after liberation thanks to the fact that Jeju Port was located in Jicheon. It was the only permanent market in Jeju Island that was formed right after liberation in 1945. As it is a market that has endured hardships along with the downtown area for a long time, you can find old Jeju foods everywhere in Dongmun Market. Kim Young-cheol visits the Omegi Rice Cake Shop that has protected a corner of Dongmun Market for 60 years. In the past, Jeju Island had a hard time farming rice, so millet and barley were the staple foods. Omegi Rice Cake, made by covering red beans in millet, was a staple at Jeju Island’s banquet tables. Now, they make rice cakes made by mixing glutinous rice and millet and covering them in whole red beans. This rice cake contains the warm heart of the grandmother who runs the rice cake shop, who wants to make rice cakes for a long time. Kim Young-cheol meets the daughter-in-law who has been making Omegi Rice Cakes with her grandmother for generations, and helps her mother-in-law to hear about the past years contained in the rice cakes. 'Pheasant Buckwheat Noodles' encountered at the market while walking. Long ago, Jeju Island was said to have caught more pheasants than pork, and they ate more pheasants. Also, since buckwheat grows well in the barren soil of Jeju Island, 'pheasant buckwheat noodles' is a local dish that was naturally created. The owner of the restaurant says that he has been making buckwheat dough every day in a small, old space. The thick pheasant buckwheat noodles perfectly capture the color of Jeju in the past. ▲ The salty taste of life brought in by haenyeo grandmothers It is a beautiful seaside village, but it has a painful history behind it. Gonul-dong Village. The residents of this place, who made a living by farming and fishing, suffered a tragedy on January 4, 1949 when a punitive force suddenly raided and burned down their houses, killing many residents. Now, only the houses from that time remain. Kim Young-cheol, who was looking around Gonul-dong Village, feels solemn in front of the village site that holds the painful history. A small port that you come across after passing Gon-eul-dong Village. The female divers who finished their work caught Kim Young-cheol’s attention. In one corner of the female divers’ changing room, where he followed the female divers, they were busy preparing freshly caught seafood. There are about a dozen female divers working in the barren Hwabuk Port. The female divers who guard this place are said to be from the disappeared Gon-eul-dong. Although it was a difficult and hard time, the grandmothers persevered while thinking of their families. Kim Young-cheol felt a deep resonance in his heart as he watched the female divers who wanted to work as long as they could in the sea where they had been all their lives. ▲ A warm taste of Jeju Island grandfather stewing it thoroughly A small restaurant drawn by a savory scent while walking through the neighborhood. An 87-year-old grandfather wearing red clothes was cooking in the kitchen. They sell ‘Gakjaegi (jeongan-i) soup’, which is made by mixing cabbage and soybean paste and boiling it with jeon-i. The reason why the restaurant is always full of local residents during lunchtime is because of the grandfather's cooking skills and his unique hospitality. Seeing the grandfather taking care of each customer one by one, wanting to feed them well and send them home, Kim Young-chul also orders gakjaegi-guk. The grandfather who personally prepares a hearty meal gives a spoonful of warm rice to Kim Young-chul, who is like a son(?) to him. #KimYoung-chul'sNeighborhoodWalk #SilverGalchi #Jeonggae