On a cold, rainy, November morning, I began my day in Sosabeol at the beautiful Baedari Library. Located adjacent to a quaint park complete with flowing creek, this library should be on your list of places to visit. If you have ever been to a library in Korea, you know that they resemble a high-end bookstore rather than your local public library. Baedari Library is no exception. Along with the standard adult and children sections, this library also comes with an American section! I was so excited when I saw it. As someone who visits the library with my children on a weekly basis, it is nice to know that there are books we can read at the local libraries that are in English. Unfortunately, the American area is currently closed due to COVID with no projected opening date; however, I am hopeful that it will open in the near future.
If the American Corner is not enough to entice you into visiting Baedari Library, perhaps their cafe will. Baedari Cafe offers both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit inside due to the weather; however, on a warm day, the outdoor seating would have provided a very relaxing setting to sit and have a nice drink. This cafe offers your standard drinks with everything from cafe lattes to yogurt smoothies. Today we opted to try their cafe latte and jujube tea. I had never tried Jujube before and was eager to try it. It was the perfect sweetness and warmth. I will definitely be ordering this drink in the future. Not only was the taste on point, jujube tea is believed to strengthen the immune system, which everyone can benefit from during this cold season.
Upon finishing our drinks, we began to think of where to eat lunch. We hopped in the car and headed over to another area of Sosabeol approximately a 5-minute drive away. Had the weather cooperated, we would have preferred to walk. My partner suggested a Japanese restaurant, Shokuji, located amongst several small shops and cafes.
Shokuji is located on the bottom floor of a two-story apartment building. (Another location is near Songtan Station). The setting is cozy and the decor consists primarily of antiques.The menu offers a wide selection of different bowls to choose from ranging in price from 10-12,000 won. All the bowls come with some type of meat, rice, and vegetable. I chose the stir fried pork bowl complete with salmon roe, while my partner chose the tempura bowl. We also tried the potato croquette on the side. The food did not disappoint and we left the restaurant with fully satisfied stomachs and taste buds.
After lunch, we began to stroll through the surrounding streets browsing in the many shops and cafes. One could spend hours exploring this area full of adorable cafes and one-of-a-kind boutiques. One shop in particular, a candle store located adjacent to Shokuji caught my attention. Not only do they have the most adorable candles for sale in the shapes of everything from watermelon slices to succulents, they offer candle-making classes and can create made-to-order candles. A day trip to Sosabeol should be high on your list of things to do while living in Korea!
Access Info: Approximately 30 minutes drive from Osan Air Force Base
Shokuji: Copy and paste phone number into Naver Map to get directions 031-647-6479
Baedari Library: 20, Jukbaek 6-ro, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
경기 평택시 죽백6로 20 (죽백동 800)
Daily hours are 9:00-18:00
This article is written by Samantha Robinson a PIEF Foreign Reporter
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