Why Andy wanted to experience organic Korean food with team happy bear

Korean food + makkoli + travel + meeting new people = 4 of my favourite things, the former two being recent favourites since arriving in Korea 8 months ago! And each was something I would be able to experience as part of team happy bear on the 1^st Korean food tour for foreigners in Jollabuk do, South Korea. Hearing that the bulk of the food we would be eating was organic was even more tempting, why? Because I recently took an interest in organic food. I generally didn’t care how my food was farmed because I just assumed it would still be as healthy as organic food and that the only difference was morals, ethics and cost.

Throughout my degree studying Environmental Science I only briefly touched upon organic food. However I did study about soil, water and biodiversity. I realised just how much damage is caused to these three aspects of our environment by modern farming practices. Soil fertility is declining, masked by a generous helping of nitrate-phosphate fertilizers which in turn filter into our waterways, in some cases literally suffocating rivers. The use of GM crops, pesticides and monoculture expansion especially in the tropics can lead to biodiversity decline as crop diversity is reduced, pests and their predators are eradicated and diverse habitats such as rainforests are replaced with forests of palm oil which support about as much biodiversity as a tarmac road. As you can imagine I was really keen to learn more about organic food and team happy bear as I found out was a wealth of information.

Korean food has become a big interest of mine since trying Korean BBQ 8 months ago. Since then I have sampled many different types of Korean food; my favourite dish is Gamjatang (Pork spine and vegetable soup with its tantalizing taste, especially after you boil down the bones at the end). Needless to say I was chomping at the bit to try new kinds of tang!

Gamjatang: Pork spine and vegetable soup

Makkoli; this little gem has probably saved me from alcohol withdrawal symptoms and self harm. Let’s be honest Korean beer is not something you fantasize about however English ale is…and I miss it. For me makkoli has replaced my desire for ale temporarily with a range of choices available, recently I tried Ginseng makolli at the Gyeongju rice cake and alcohol festival the flavour was definitely an improvement on plain makkoli. I also have a bottle of mushroom makkoli at home that I am itching to try! However nothing could compare to what we were about to taste.

Makkoli: So simple yet so tasty

Happy bears sample of makkoli: A whacking 14% by volume