It’s Friday night, Hmmm what to do? What to do? Why not go check out Herb Island? That is exactly what we did! Herb Island located in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do. South Korea.
Herb Island is only a few miles north of Camp Casey the Army military base in Dongducheon. It’s not actually an “island” so do not be fooled by looking for an actual island. However, there are so many sights, tastes, and aromas to take in when you visit this peaceful place.
Here are basic directions if you are traveling by car like we did- In Uijongbu, take road 3 that leads to Dongduchon. After driving past Dongduchon, keep going until you see road 344. Seeing road 344 that goes to Chosongri, turn right and go straight until you see Samjongri Elementary School. Herb Island is behind the school.
When you make it to Herb Island you will be greeted by a worker at the bottom of the hill where you will have to pay a very small entry free. Then prepare yourself for a short steep uphill drive to get to the parking lot. Woo-Hoo! You have now made it to Herb Island!
When we first arrived we immediately went inside the greenhouses. Here we loved following the long paths through each twist and turn and smelling and taking in all the flower and plants had to offer. This is a great area to take all sorts of pictures.
Next we headed into our first shop. This shop had all sorts of little trinkets and crafts. We started to take a picture but we were quickly told that we were not to do so. Oops. We found this place to be neat because they were selling handmade candles, and furniture pieces to fill a dollhouse.
After checking out the first shop we walked down a hill made of all uneven stepping rocks to where they had a small animal petting farm.
After checking out the animals we headed over to the stage area that is surrounded by a waterway where you can take little swan boats or get inside of a giant plastic bubble and run on top of the water. This looked hilarious. Larry tried to convince me to try it out, but I wasn’t having any of that craziness. All I could picture was a hamster on a wheel like trying to get somewhere fast but not being successful.
We then found ourselves in front of the herb-island museum. This place was pretty neat! We walked around a bit checking out the history and such. We both fell in love with some of the photos that were handmade with herbs grown on the site to form a large picture. The price was a bit steep hah so we stuck to just admiring them for the time being.
After the Herb island museum we followed the path that leads us up to the bakery. Honestly, I could smell this place when we first pulled in the lot with my super nose. I knew we were definitely stopping in this place! We wanted to buy everything because everything they had smelled and tasted so delicious. We ended up with bread that had cranberries and a beautiful topping on it. It’s sinful but you know us…
We were both really ready to eat dinner after the trip inside of the bakery. We grabbed dinner at a sit down restaurant located within Herb Island called the aroma-eating village. Everything featured on the menu is served with herbs. Even the water is refreshing with hints of lemon balm, rosemary, and a teeny bit of sugar.
We both ordered bibimbap, as we explained in previous blog entries as a traditional Korean dish typically with rice and vegetables. This bibimbap is a special blend of seven herbs and has a sauce on the side that is made from 16 others. It’s so neat you just mix it all together adding however much you want of the sauce and rice and eat it. We took a few pictures of the dish so you could see what it looks like. The dish is served with sides of kimchi and a warm broth.
Herb Island also has a library, an aromatherapy room, and another more formal restaurant on site. Oh and I can’t forget about Larry’s favorite – The full body massage chairs. He raved about them the last time he went to Herb Island.
If you are ever in the area or want to get out of the city and take in the mountains and fresh sents of herbs we suggest that you check this place out! Friday night was a perfect time to visit as we are told that weekend days such as Saturday and Sunday are packed.
Please feel free to check out our pictures or the Herb Island Official website: http://www.herbisland.net.
We scanned the below items in from a flyer obtained at Herb Island (Sorry it’s not the best quality).
Hi do they sell herbs as potted plants, or only herb products?
Nina, I believe you might be able to pick up some small herb plants. More so it’s products and all sorts of things made with the herbs that they grow there. We really enjoyed it there! Hope you can get there and check it out as well!
Thank you! Your pictures are beautiful! I talked my hubby into going there with me this weekend, if the weather’s good!
Thank you Nina! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Make sure you pick up a freshly baked treat at the bakery!! We were in love with the baked goods. Tell us what you thought of it afterwards.
Hi! I totally loved Herb Island! I was just trying to find some herbs to grow, but could not resist getting their peppermint spray and herbal tea. I love their specialty shops and the way they market goods by letting you sample everything! And their DIY soap-making shop looked interesting though they weren’t conducting classes when we went there. 🙁 The food was great, and the garlic bread was really yum, though I was hoping to find more herb bread.
The live band was pretty good too! I’m glad you documented everything so well, surely convinced me to go, and I’m so glad I did!
Take many pictures! You are wonderful guides. 🙂
Excellent! We are just glad you enjoyed your trip to herb-Island. If you ever come across anything cool you think we might enjoy please feel free to comment and let us know! We love to try and see new things!
hey, how long did it take you to get to herb island once you were in dongducheon? thanks!
Hi Eleanor! Hope were not to late responding… We’d say about 15-20 minutes. Hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Thanks for this great post. We’ll be staying overnight in Pocheon in about a week and I discovered Herb Island as something to check out. Good info!
Glad we could share! You will have a great time. This is such a wonderful season here in Korea too. The blossoms are all coming out, bits of green sprouting, eek! We’d love to know your thoughts once you visit.