Herb Island in Pocheon

Before the jimjilbang, Jae Hyun and I went on a little day trip to Pocheon, Korea, which is not too far outside Seoul (to get there, take Line 1 all the way to the end [Soyosan] and then take bus #57 for about 20 minutes to the Herb Island stop.) Besides my trip to Busan, and our school trip to the Garden of Morning Calm in Gyeonggi-do, this is the only time I have been outside Seoul proper since coming here in August. Really, almost everything worth doing and seeing is inside Seoul, save for some temples and ancient things, and the gorgeous beaches of Busan.

Herb Island reminded me of the Petit Prince village in Gyeonggi-do, which I saw fliers for at the Garden of Morning Calm. Both are miniature theme villages that are good places to go on dates or to go to take a ton of pictures of your Korean child. Herb Island's concept is letting you make your own herb soap and candles, buy plants in homemade pots, or buy pre-purchased products made with ingredients grown on Herb Island (which is not in any way, shape, or form a real island.)

So, here are some pictures! Some are mine, and some I stole from Jae Hyun's Facebook. He has a really nice camera and was writing about it for his college newspaper so he kind of had to take a ton of pictures.

The entrance to Herb Island

The Herb Island Restaurant. He got Korean bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables and red pepper powder) and I got fish with vegetables and rice.

Me looking cold. It felt like -15 degrees Fahrenheit that day. I have never been that cold in my life!

Some miniatures you can buy for a dollhouse.

Jae Hyun pretending to sew in the life-sized dollhouse.

A small-scale reproduction of the Trevi Fountain. There's also one in the basement of the Lotte Department Store at the subway stop you use to go to Lotte World. Weird.

Inside the greenhouse.

The Christmas decorations were part of the Christmas Festival.

Jae Hyun says people go to this bridge to propose to their girlfriends.

I think couples write love notes and tie them to this tree. Kind of like how couples write notes and attach them to locks and keys and put them on the fences at Nam San Tower. A testament to couple-culture in Korea.

Korean baby posing for a picture with a Smurf. Smurfs are currently very en vogue in Korea.

Inside the Herb Restaurant: my picture this time.