Daegaya Meat Camp

The following is a review of the campsite Daegaya Meat Camp (대가야 미트캠프). Please see related posts (It's Actually Called "Meat Camp," Sausages and Flies, Getting to Daegaya Meat Camp) for additional thoughts and information.

Things to Do: apropos of campsite's name, main attraction is meat production; (in our case) hands-on 1-hr sausage-making tutorial in air-conditioned on-site kitchen facility (didn't have time to ask if lessons for other types of meat--e.g., bacon, hams--are also or would eventually be offered); KRW 20,000 covers session for 1 "team" (4 campers) and provides 1.5 kg of sausages (photo right shows about 1 kg); sausages may be cooked and consumed immediately after class.

Location: Gyeongsang-Bukdo, Goryeong-Gun, Unsu-Myeon, Hwaam-Ri 1163 (경상북도 고령군 운수면 화암리 1163번지), 45 km southwest of central Daegu.

Getting There (from Hannam-Dong, Seoul): by car, shortest route is 285 km, mostly highway; 3.5 hours of drive time; both distance and time may vary depending on route (various highway combinations possible) and traffic (departing Seoul on Friday evening or returning on Sunday afternoon may result in as much as additional three hours each way); easy road access to campsite (no need for 4-wheel drive or SUV); public transportation likely to be extremely cost-prohibitive and inconvenient: after taking bus/train to Daegu, taxi fare one way to campsite may be as high as KRW 100,000 (drivers would likely charge double meter to cover return trip), while return trip would require hiring local "call" taxi for similar rate (owner could probably assist with this).

Type of Site: commercial, on grounds of defunct elementary school; privately owned.

Grounds: soft dirt with sparse grass growth; lack of shade, except under one gigantic tree (see top photo); heavy rainfall during monsoon season may result in flooding of grounds due to poor drainage (see top photo) (in fact, on this trip, half of our team arrived one day before the rest only to discover that the rains had led to ankle-level flooding, forcing them to sleep in the school building; the waters had mostly subsided by the next day, when the other half arrived, but the grounds were somewhat squishy-muddy-swampy in the aftermath; even worse, the daytime heat caused the moisture to evaporate and create a sauna effect).

Environment: countryside, surrounded by farmlands and small hills; quiet and isolated from overt signs of civilization despite short 500-m distance to entrance at main road (see photo above); though relatively peaceful, not much of wilderness/nature vibe; nearest town/village located 3 km away.

Predators: FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES FLIES (never in all my experiences have I, nor in my twistedest imagination could I have, encountered so many), and swarms of mosquitos for good measure.

Capacity: can comfortably accommodate at least 60 family-sized tent+tarp setups, plus additional space inside large auditorium with site-owned tents already pitched (see photo right) and two smaller empty classrooms.

Fees: KRW 15,000 for 1st night per setup (includes 1 family-sized tent + 1 tarp + maximum 4 campers); KRW 12,000 each additional night; classrooms inside school building, either main hall with pre-pitched tents for KRW 20,000 per night or individual rooms for KRW 50,000 per night, are available for rental; limited number and varying qualities of grills, tables, chairs, tents, tarps, and other basic gear also available for rental (usually for a fee, which I also forgot to ask about, but the owner allowed us to sleep in the tents in the classrooms due to the aforementioned flooding, and later to borrow a grill and a tarp, free of charge).

Restrooms: separate mens' and womens' facilities with sit-down toilets; toilet paper provided; clean but not immaculate.

Showers: separate mens' and womens' facilities with sinks and shower stalls; soap and shampoo provided; cold water only.

Water: 10-tap sink for general washing and cooking purposes; water, drawn from local well, is potable (but sporadically had a slight off color, probably due to heavy rainfall); cold water only.

Supplies: school building contains "exhibition ro

om" that sells various barbeque-related items (e.g., grills, cast-iron pans, charcoal); owner sells fresh basil and other potted herbs, as well as sausages; closest mini-mart located about 2 km from the campsite.

Electricity: several outlets directly adjacent to the school building; no extra charge for use.

Communications: strong signals for mobile phones and 3G network; wi-fi signal detected but required passcode (possibly available upon request); school building has telephone and internet landlines (possibly available upon request).

Staff: owner and assistants on site 24ove hours; English proficiency unknown (though owner liked to use a lot of English phrases, like "No problem!").

Contact Information: (051) 956-5279; (see link Daegaya Meat Camp; all in Korean, but click on bulleted headings in top-center of page (see photo above) and scroll down to see photos).

Bonus: "swimming" pool, about 1-m deep (installed for young kids in minds but actually quite a welcome benefit for kids of all ages when the heat gets unbearable); water sourced from local well (off-color at times, probably due to heavy rainfall, but cleared up after a couple hours of filtration).

The novelty of the sausage-making experience makes this campsite worthwhile for a single visit. However, the fact that the resulting sausages are neither authentic nor tasty, nor very cheap, rules out repeat visits--better to learn the basic technique, which is simple enough to replicate at home with the requisite equipment, though overly simplified at the camp to make real sausages, and experiment solo. Another drawback is the lack of alternative activities within the area. And if ever you do decide to go, even if only once, just for the hell of it, avoid late July both for the rains and the flies and mosquitos.