First Visit to Korea’s first Oriental Medicine/Herbal Bio Expo

I have spent quite awhile waiting to go and see the Bio-expo. I have a number of questions are about other therapies

partly because I am not always satisfied by Western medicine. To be honest, although I have been writing about the Expo on these pages it was really all from what I had been told because the Expo was still in the planning stages. Now it has started and it was so good to see, hear and smell the Expo, in the flesh.

I used the free bus services from Gwangwhamun which is run by Chess Tours. I had written about this free service on this blog. It was a great service, the staff although not really English speakers were polite which made the short trip that much nicer. The bookings are going well but there are still plenty of seats so if you are in Seoul or live close then please take advantage of this free service. It takes you straight to the Expo and then back again with a stop off at the lovely Cheongpung lake:http://bioexpo.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/free-buses-from-seoul-to-the-jecheon-bioexpo/

Don’t forget to use the other pages of this blog or the official Bioexpo web site to get information: http://www.hanbang-expo.org/open_content;jsessionid=A98BB57AFD2FB46AF25DD19656B4ED67

As soon as we went through the Jecheon city toll gate, we turned a corner into a brand new road built just for the expo and we were there. I wasn’t quite ready for the sheer size of it. The front gates of the Expo almost look like a theme park – a million volunteers await you and the girls who take your tickets are all dressed to the nines in hanbok like garb. Everyone is friendly – you only have to look like you are the slightest bit confused and someone approaches you.

Once inside the Expo not only is the size quite a marvel but also the greenery and permanence they have seemed to achieve despite this being a one of event. There are heaps of gardens, places to hang out and also a sort of theme park like atmosphere that I kind of liked. At one stage I was grabbed by one of the organizers to help award the ’10,000^th’ visitor plaque to one lucky punter who entered the gates. She was dazzled by cheers, claps and the Bioexpo cartoon characters that looked straight out of Disney Land. Quite impressive though – the place has only been open for about 10 days and they had already achieved that many guests.

But I can see why – so many Koreans were flocking to the event because in reality, even in Korea, Western medicine is starting to gain ground over the more traditional and arguably more effective and less harmful means of Oriental medicine. They were there to get free checks and see a plethora of herbs, remedies and techniques that have been firmly embedded in their culture for years but not always easy to find these days – even for Koreans.

In the ‘Futuristic Medical Pavilion’ which focuses on Meridian Pathways for ‘Primos’ there were many of these free health checks like a computer facial analysis which is able to tell you if and what sickness you had. There were also other busy medical checks with equally

exciting and technical analysis gear. This pavilion was so popular that there were queues out the door to get in, but they moved quickly. I missed many of these checks because I was more about the spectacle – the 3D theatre. Here I got to see a little robot like creature speed around human arteries destroying nasty evil viruses.

From then on it was to the Medicinal Study Pavilion. This place in contrast was quiet and walls and walls of herbs that you could pick up and smell. There was even a counter of herbs and spicy things you could taste. They all tasted suspiciously like Korean cold/flu medicine which I had often wondered about. The overwhelming delicious smell and the small indoor garden was all quite a treat. Just outside this and bordering the main square with the gigantic sculpture

were a number of smaller pavilions where you could get involved making medicinal and herb themed arts and crafts. Unfortunately I was so busy running around everywhere I did not have a go but when I go again it is a definite must. My other English speaking friends who I met there said that some of them did not have English speakers but it did not matter because it was all self explanatory. They could get involved, hang out with the kids and the ajumas and turn out the same product.

As I kept walking around the Expo with the river to my left I encountered an assortment of other pavilions, Medical Hospital Pavilions, Medical University Pavilions and my favourite the ‘World Traditional Medicinal Pavilion’ – there were Japanese exhibitors, Chinese, Indian, Nepalize, Mali – and my favourite was the Mongolian exhibitor who spoke

flawless English and had her exhibition and displays in a traditional Mongolian ‘Jurte’.

I really want to talk about so much more but I see this blog is already getting too long. There were heaps of restaurants and one of them was a food court that had all these Traditional Korean dishes with medicinal and ‘well-being’ edges to them. I wanted to check them out but my Korean friend dragged me along to eat some Korean beef. I wasn’t complaining. I then proceeded to run around trying to take in as much as I could. I missed

the permanent structures – the flash museums but did take in the beautiful gardens there, the water sculptures, maze and wooden tower that over looks the whole Expo. I then ran past the main stage with the belly dancing girls and out the gates to the bus to head for the lake on my way home.

The warm Autumn sun was shining and it was the best way to spend the fading days. The two friends who I made during my time there both said that although the lack of English was an issue, there was so much to see and do and so much information that it really did not matter. Also, as well as the volunteers there were English Interprators who could be identified by the tags around their necks. Both my friends said they wanted to go back as they missed so much, as did I. But, me, them and you have to be quick, the whole Expo wraps up October 16.