Day 1- Met at the Incheon Airport late in the evening by Rotarians of the New-Geumgang Rotary Club with President Oh Il Young, and Rotarians Jeong Won Gi, Park Jong Oh and Jeon Seong Kyu (Chairman of International Service Committee).

Exchange of our club banners followed by an ad hoc arrangement for supper at a highway reststop.

We learn the proper way of eating udon and using metallic chopsticks, as well as converting wons to HK dollars as we stock up for the golf game on the next day.

Day 2 - Having "Soondaeguk" or Korean-styled sausage for breakfast at a local eatery - instead of the typical breakfast buffet at the hotel for a change.

Vocational visit to the Cass Brewery in the Chungchong Province. (Cass makes 100% non-pasturized beer and is the no. 2 beer in Korea after Hite.)

Empty beer cans, bottles, and a whirling and spinning world, even before we have the chance to take a sip.

We have an informative tour of the fully-automated plant, thank our guide and immediately gulp down all the fresh draft Cass we can take!

A surprise souvenir from Cass which we think would be useful for the golf games under the sun....

Arriving at the Silkriver Golf Club and having Korean "Kimchi-jjigae" hotpot for lunch before our golf game, we are greeted by a past DG of District 3680 who is also visiting the golf club.

The first flight at the tee of a Par-3 with a magnificent view as backdrop,... while a "Silkriver love story" seems to unfold....

What a good game, and cheers to good health and friendship!

Our joint club meeting at a Daejeon hotel in the evening and the warm reception as we take our seats.

Exchange of souvenirs and banners and speeches....

Our host club's banner, our MC and interpreter, and the two Rotarians - S K Jeon and Stephen Lai - who started it all....

Group picture before we dig in to our sumptuous buffet dinner.

We are pleased to sing songs to our clubs' mutual friendship while a verteran New-Geumgang Rotarian relates their club history to us.

The MC introduces the spouses of the New-Geumgang Rotarians, who are gracefully dressed in traditional Korean costumes,...

...and dance and sing, and are joined in by our members as well.

The night is still young as we take a peaceful walk back to the Yousung Hotel. We are wary of waking up at 3am for the next day's golf game.... and as it turns out, the rain actually saves our day.

Day 3 - We all wake up fully rested and visit the local Korean ginseng and produce wholesale market. Another eye-opening vocational visit for us as we bargain and buy wild honey in hives,...

.... sample all kinds of ginseng preserves and sweets, and learn all we want to know about ginseng from cheerful hosts at the 24th Geumsan Insam (Ginseng) Festival.

Outside the exhibition hall and in the drizzle, local masters demonstrate how traditional glutinous rice dumplings are made.

Not exactly a grey sky on this rainy day. Even the umbrellas we carry match the festivities with flair.

We have "Kalbitang" - soup with beef ribs - for lunch at another local Daejeon restaurant; we're getting more acquainted with each other as we tell our Rotary classifications and what we do for a living,... and time quickly runs out.... More souvenirs presented to us by President Oh...

and it's time to say goodbye to our warm and generous hosts.

A melancholy goodbye-in-the-rain montage from our bus window.

The last day in Korea ends with a visit to the Lotte department store and a boiling hot "Ogolgyetang" dinner, or soup with ginseng and black chicken, in the Myungdong District in Seoul. (Cultural tip: normal chicken soup is called "Samgyetang".)

We say thanks and present our souvenirs to Jay Kwon, our tired but spirited interpreter who has accompanied us for the past two full days, before we head for the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill and indulge ourselves in yet another vocational visit.... and the rest is history....

History of New-Geumgang Rotary Club

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