Day 8

Making tofu in South Korea is probably no different than in the U.S., but the Koreans claim theirs is better. The farming community in Wanju (west-central Korea) let us try our hand at making it. The bowls you see have soybean soup in them. We added a water mixture, stirred, spooned it into a strainer, pressed really hard, and out came the tofu. Here's the finished product, and even with our inexperience it didn't turn out half bad. (maybe there wasn't much to mess up)

Packaged tofu from this local farming community is part of a plan to make these villages more economically independent. With a community food sharing association and a local food store run by farmers, the area is cashing in, and residents are able to eat locally produced foods. Cucumbers, tofu, eggs, grains, onions, spinach, and chicory are boxed up for delivery, and then other produce goes to this store to be sold.

Farmers can check in real-time online to find out if they need to bring more produce to the store. A live video feed shows what's still left on the shelf. The store also sells beef. We visited a farm with 150 cows, and it was the first barn I've ever been to where I needed to disinfect my shoes before entering.

Eventually I'll work up a longer story for broadcast on WVXU about the technology involved in helping these communities get back on their feet financially. I'm also working on a story about medical tourism.

Severance Hospital, a private hospital at Yonsei University in Seoul, is beginning to market in the United States. Director of it's International Health Care Center, Dr. John Linton, says his hospital sees 40,000 foreign patients every year. He says people are attracted to the high-tech sophisticated surgery Korean doctors can provide and the cheaper cost. While at the hospital I interviewed an American and a Russian. I'll report on this in "Focus on Technology" for WVXU in a few weeks.
We had a long bus ride today from Wanju to Seoul, and on the way home we walked around at the Korean version of a truck stop. It is very elaborate with fresh food, stores, and packaged items like: peanut buttered roast squid. Bon appetit!