From Stage Actor to Remote Traveler: 70 Years of Time Preserved in a Mountain Mud House

In Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, lies the remote Deoksangi Valley, a place that can only be reached by passing through rugged mountain terrain and waterways so harsh they are called "Nepal." Here lives Choi Il-sun, who has transformed from a successful stage actor into a traveler of remote areas. According to the EBS documentary video, Choi Il-sun lives as a guesthouse owner, guarding her paternal grandmother's 70-year-old birthplace mud house and offering warm comfort to those with nowhere else to go.

The history of the mud house that has endured 70 years and 'Kogul'

The mud house where Choi Il-sun stays is more than just a shelter. The walls of this house, built 70 years ago, are blackened by smoke rising from the furnace. The participant in the video explains the history of the house, saying, "Because we have lit fires for 70 years, the rising smoke prevented the wood from rotting, allowing the house to be maintained until now." Inside the house, the 'Kogul' also remains, which was the only light that illuminated the deep mountain nights in the past. This structure, resembling a small nose, shows the wisdom of the mountains, as it simultaneously provided lighting and heating effects using oil lamps or pine resin.

Maintaining the house requires devotion. A mud house is a precious entity that must be decorated with red clay every year, much like a new bride applying makeup, to endure the year. Choi Il-sun confesses, "I saw many instances of my grandmother's feeling, the food she made, and the sight of her repairing this house herself," and adds that as she gets older, she misses those rough but natural hand-made touches and the traces of her grandmother.

The valley water flowing in front of the house serves as a natural swimming pool. Immersing oneself in the valley water, which is cooler than air conditioning, unfolds a leisure unique to the mountains that makes one forget even the sweltering heat of midsummer.

'Maternal Grandmother's Recipe' that moved German chef Dario

To Dario, a chef from Germany who visited Jeongseon in search of hometown flavors, Choi Il-sun first proposes harsh labor. Someone coming to have a single meal must start with tasks like completing a handmade sunshade by erecting the pillars. The video captures the process of making a sunshade using cotton cloth so that it leaks less rather than just getting hit by the rain. Only after helping with the work of the mud house is the long-awaited 'dining table' finally set. Choi Il-sun's cooking is a process of restoring memories of her grandmother. She recalls that to not forget the taste of the tofu stew her late grandmother used to make, she memorized the cooking sequence one by one by her side.

The secret recipe is well-ripened 'Yukjeot' salted shrimp. The table is filled with tofu stew made from tofu boiled in a cauldron since dawn, accompanied by vegetables from the kitchen garden, and spicy, salty tofu durumagi (stir-fried tofu). Dario feels a sense of longing, as if his grandmother is appearing before his eyes just by tasting it, saying, "It reminds me of my grandmother." To this, coffee brewed directly from Ethiopian beans is added, and the mountain night deepens. Drinking coffee with the flowing valley water and bird sounds as a background is like true leisure of the immortals.

The sweetness that comes after the bitterness of life, 'Jjageuri'

To Choi Il-sun, this mud house is the sweetness encountered after the bitterness of life. Experiencing the harsh life in remote areas and the ups and downs of life, she has lived while preserving the natural hand-made touch and her grandmother's warmth. Dario concludes his journey by presenting 'Jjageuri,' which reproduces the hand-made taste of a grandmother from Chungju, while recalling the time he lived in his mother's country (Ethiopia). As Dario says, "This sound, this smell, it made me anxious," the natural taste of the mountains and the atmosphere of memories provide a deep resonance.

Through the mountain scenery where the bitterness and sweetness of life intersect, the video delivers a message that everyone has at least one 'longed-for taste' sleeping deep within their hearts. The taste enjoyed under the sunshade is more than just food; it is like a time machine that turns back the passing time.