Chorok Maeul, Sangin

To complete the fourth and final installment in our Chorok Maeul series, DGL made the long and arduous (if you're on a bicycle) journey all the way out to Sangin, in order to scope out

Chorok Maeul, Sangin

(Unfortunately, it was just about closing time when I visited, so I didn't get a good shot of the front of the building. There should be one coming soon...)

Like the other Chorok Maeul shops scattered around the country, the Sangin branch specializes in bringing consumers healthy and safe stuff to eat. Organic rice, grains and beans, seasonal prdouce, antibiotic-free meat, preservative-free snacks and sauces.

The interior is bigger than some of the other ones, leaving plent of space for $200 mushroom displays. Koreans take their organic medicinal fungi seriously...

A closer look at all the produce

In case your school didn't provide you with a rice cooker.



Vegetarian Ramen!



Lots of great teas

Chorok Maeul, Sangin is located just around the corner from one of Noksaek Sari's favorite restaurants, the absolutely fantastic 월배채식솔내. If you're coming from Downtown, get off the subway at Sangin and come out of exit 2. Walk straight until Sangwon-ro, the only big intersection between Sangin and Weolbae, and then turn right. Go straight, past the entrance to the Happy Tree apartment complex (I wonder how many trees were razed to make space for it...). Chorok Maeul will be our your right in just a minute or two. Map here. They're open 9:30AM-9:30PM Monday to Friday and 10AM-8PM on Weekends and public holidays.

Their official website, here, has a complete list of inventory and prices.

Chorok Maeul, Songhyeon

Daegu Green Living has expanded its territory once again, this time wandering all the way out to Songyeon, the West Kansas of Daegu. We proudly present:

Chorok Maeul, Songhyeon

The Songhyeon branch is the third Chorok Maeul in Daegu and by far the largest. Like the others, it sells produce, grains, beans, sauces, spices, meats snacks, drinks, supplements, cosmetics, household items, all of which are local, organic, pesticide-free, antibiotic-free, free range, or eco-friendly in some other way.

Other noteworthy items include:

Frozen pizza made (mostly) with Korean flour; Hypoallergenic bedding, comforters, and toys.



Organic black bean and soy milks, including powdered mixes. And plenty of wine!




Peanut butter (the price tag there is for something else, sorry...)



Baby food, organic butter

The owner here is among the friendliest I've ever met - she asked me to convey that she apologizes for not speaking English and said that she would work harder to serve foreign customers, if only she could figure out what they wanted. So, if you want to know thy the beans on the top shelf (Korean) cost less than the ones in the middle (oragnic), or what the heck you're supposed to do with pine needle powder, or how you can go about getting this or that- give it a shot!

Directions from downtown: follow the red subway line out to Seongdangmot (Seobu Bus Station) and then continue following it until about halfway to Songhyeon. Turn right onto Haksan-ro and walk down the hill until you get to a medium-sized intersection with a flashing orange stoplight suspended over the middle. Turn right there, and then look for the store on your right, opposite the Green Mansion apartments. Here's a map. They're open from 10AM to 9PM; check out their website here for more info about products and prices.

Chorok Maeul, Chilgok

As if Chilgok District 3 didn't have enough organic shops already*, here's one more for your shopping joy:

This Chorok Maeul outlet, located just a few blocks east of the Farmer's Marketplace and a few south east of the newish Primus cinema, has been around for seven years, a good deal longer than Chilgok's other ethical eateries. Knowing that Chilgok is more or less one giant hagwon, they've chosen an appropriate motto:

"We want to provide our precious children with nothing but safe food grown on our land."

Like the other shops already mentioned on the blog, it carries the usual range of edibles, all local, organic, low-pesticide, or in-season: rice, grains, beans and pulses, noodles, snacks, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, nutritional supplements, and cosmetics. To see exactly what's available, and how much it all costs, visit their official website at (Website link)

I'll hold back on the interior shots, since all of the stores look more or less the same, and limit myself to showing you some of spiffier items being offered.

Organic pre-cooked, microwaveable rice.

"Green ham" (Sounds like a Dr. Seuss ripoff) and glutinous pressed barley, which looks to me like a viable substitute for oatmeal...

And what's better to drop into your oatmeal than organic peanuts, almonds and walnuts? Enjoy it with some tea...

Organic button mushrooms are also a treat, but nothing compared to organic ice cream.

There you have it! Click on any of the above pictures to visit the photo album, which has a few more detail shots, or visit the Chilgok branch's official site for a more complete listing of products and prices.

Chorok Maeul Chilgok is located at 대구 북구 동천동 950, but if you look it up on a map, it tells you it's in the center of the Hwaseong Central Park apartment complex, which, I can say from personal experience, is not the case. It's actually just a few meters past the entrance to the apartment complex, on Daecheon-no, directly east of the Daedong bridge. On the map above, it's across from the "Buy the Way" convenience store. They're open daily from 10AM to 11PM.
__________________________________________

*Actually, what am I talking about? Is it even possible to have enough organic shops? Why do I feel like three is a lot, when they must be outnumbered by conventional "marts" one hundred to one?

Chorok Maeul, Siji

If this blog were your only source of eco-friendly shoppig information, you might get the impression that your organic options in Daegu were limited to the miniscule sections at the big shops (whose names I'd rather not mention) and a couple of specialty stores in Chilgok. In truth, though, this blog bias is just a result of me not having the time or gumption to venture too far out of my comfort zone, which is more or less bounded by Chilgok, Duryu, the Airport, and Downtown.

Thankfully, though, vacation has come, full of bright days and empty hours and chances to explore. Nothing makes one feel more accomplished than hopping on the bicycle, stuffing onself senseless at a buffet, zipping out to the end of the subway line, and doing a bit of sleuthing. Which is exactly what I - actually, we, since I had an accomplice this time - did on Tuesday. This post, and the following two, contain the fruits of our labor.

Welcome to Chorok Maeul (초록마을, Green Village), Siji Branch!

Chorok Maeul, founded in 1999, is dedicated to "facilitating the distribution of domestic, environmentally friendly, organic foods and providing consumers with healthy foodstuffs bearing the sweat and devotion of the farmland." Korean production of organic food has increased tenfold over the last ten years, and the number of Chorok Maeul outlets has risen from one to over two hundred. This success may be due, at least in part, to their three pledges:

"To the customer: We promise to provide only products which have been certified as both safe and eco-friendly."

"To the producer: We will not forget your honesty, nor the precious sweat of your brow."

"To the environment: We will take the lead in watching and protecting the environment, which itself gives us life."


Dwarfed by the nearby Sinmae market and rendered inconspicous by the noise of the nearby phone shops and ultra-popular dumpling steamery, Chorok Maeul is actually much bigger than it looks from the outside. In addition the the standard Korean organic offerings of

organic beans, whole- and mixed-grain rices, jams (including organic German peanut butter!)

noodles, snacks, flour, and pancake mix made from domestic grains,

loads of fresh, organic, domestic, seasonal produce, antibiotic-free eggs, soy sauce, red pepper paste, and other Korean goodies,

Chorok Maeul also stocks a good variety of breafast mix powders, cosmetics, honeys, teas, and, most importantly, boozes.

(Close up:)

Not pictured, but also worth mentioning, is the selection of breads - whole grain, five grain, and more - made from organic Korean flour.

Unlike Hansallim and ICoop, Chorok Maeul doesn't require customers to purchase a membership. Regular customers can enroll in a program to earn reward points, which can be spent just like cash on any product in the store. If you'd rather just do your shopping and get on with it, that's fine too.

You can pay Chorok Maeul a visit any day of the week; they're open from 10AM-9PM Monday through Saturday, and 10AM to 6PM on Sundays. The Siji branch of Chorok Maeul is located at in Sinmae-dong, Suseong-gu 578-8, a few minutes' walk away from Sinmae station. Come out of exit five and walk straight until the next big intersection. Turn right onto Sinmae-ro, walk south about a block and a half, and it'll be on your left; if you get to Sinmae Elementary School, you've gone too far. Alternately, you can head west from exit two of Sawol station, walk across the river, turn left at Sinmae-ro, and then follow the remaining directions above. Here's a map.



For those of you who live somewhere other than Siji - i.e., just about everybody - cheer up! In addition to a number of other organic shops that Daegu Green Living has yet to document, there are two more Chorok Maeul outlets: one in Chilgok and one in Songhyeon.

Visit the Siji Branch website here (sorry, no English) to see products, prices,
and news, or to shop online. For more about the company itself, visit http://www.choroki.com/.