Tonight we celebrated a good friends birthday at Beaver’s Barbeque Restaurant located north of Dongducheon in Toekgo-ri. Toekgo-ri is about 20 kilometers south of the DMZ line. We all laughed after making the drive because it feels like you are really traveling into North Korea on the tiny unpaved curvy back roads. Beavers posted little Beaver logoed signs in various places on the road as well as signs that read, “sansok,” meaning deep in the mountains. If you ever get the chance to make the trip we Bee’s think that you will be pleased!
Beavers is located deep in the hillside outside of Camp Hovey one of the US military bases in this region. The owner, Mr. Lee, started his business out by catering to the local Korean community. Eventually business grew and the Soldiers stationed at the surrounding bases found this unique place nestled in the Korean hillside much like being back at home.
You notice we use the word unique for this barbeque joint. Ah yes, this brings us to the décor. At first glance this place looks very homey with a nice big woodstove in the center of the room. Wooden tables and chairs, pool tables dart boards, American music playing in the background, stacks of biker magazines on the shelves, along with other biker type memorabilia, outside decks, etc. Basically the overall feel is a typical American “tavern” feel. However, as your eyes start to adjust and you are looking around a bit more you notice there are a few adult pictures hanging on the walls as well as some interesting coat hangers. We will not go into detail as we have a third grade class reviewing most of our blog posts and pictures. Use your imagination or better yet… take a trip there!
So how is the food?! It is delicious! The menu is rather simple with the choices of seasoned mud snail or charcoal-grilled pork barbeque with hotdogs. Our group opted for the grilled pork barbeque with hotdogs. The sides that come with the meal are corn, potatoes, beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, and more of Beavers BBQ sauce to dip in. Our friends said that you could also request a special rice dish as well if you wanted to throw in some Korean taste to the meal. So how much does the meal set you back? 15,000 won.
Everything was delicious and really made us feel like we were back in the states!
Please enjoy the pictures!