Pohang Traditional Culture Center / 포항전통문화체험관

Located in Deokdong Village about 40 minutes from downtown Pohang, the Pohang Traditional Culture Center consists of three traditional Korean buildings -- 'Lodge Building,' 'Cultural Training Hall,' and 'Food Experience Hall' -- and 'Guestroom Building' forming the shape of 'ㄱ' on an 8,251m² area. The hills surrounding the center create a cozy environment, and a grove of pine and fir trees right past the entrance adds to the beautiful natural landscape. Thanks to the clean air, you will be able to see stars in the night sky. The site originally belonged to an elementary school before being transformed into a cultural center as part of Pohang City's urban project. The center is managed and maintained by Pohang City Facilities Management Corporation as commissioned by Pohang City. As a place for learning and appreciating Korean culture in the natural landscape of Deokdong Village, which has a long history, it's now a popular field trip destination among schools. The Center offers various educational and character building programs designed to restore the traditional culture of Korea by providing students with an opportunity to learn their culture, including 'seodang (private village school that provided elementary education during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties),' calligraphy, tea drinking, and ecosystem classes. Other programs include 'nanta (Korean traditional percussion instrument),' 'taekkyeon (traditional Korean martial art),' straw and Korean paper handicraft, and natural dyeing classes. The most popular program at the center is the traditional cooking class wherein participants get to make and try various traditional food items such as bean curd and rice cake. It's popular because the teachers/instructors use traditional recipes that many people think are fun to follow. Most of these are one or two-day programs and are participated in by groups of over 20 guests. Individual guests are also welcome to sign up for the program. The Guestroom Building has 10 guestrooms, each furnished with television, refrigerator, air conditioner, dressing table, and hair dryer for the convenience of the guests. Men's and women's bathrooms and shower rooms are in a separate building because they are shared among the guests. One of the biggest advantages of staying at this center is the reasonable room rates, which are fixed regardless of season and day (whether weekday or weekend). Moreover, there is no extra charge for additional guests in each guestroom. Paid breakfast is served at the cafeteria in the 'Experience Hall.' The breakfast is reasonably priced as well, not to mention delicious.