Baekdam Mountain Valley Pension

This a good place to visit the most beautiful part of South Korea - the national parks Odaesan, Soraksan, the Murung valley and the best beaches of South Korea are all within easy reach from the Taegi Valley Pension. Note that coming along the road no. 6 by car, the pension is identified by a board saying "Kelly´s Attic" and there us no mention of Taegi Valley Pension. To be accommodated here, Europeans may be faced with some challenges: 1) how to book - probably impossible without help from a Korean friend (we have such a friend who booked the pension and paid the deposit of 100 000 won for us) , otherwise, there is a language problem (no English, but the female manager´s daugher speaks Japanese - however, she works in Seoul and was here just for a major Korean holiday - her father speaks basic Japanese only) 2) how to pay the deposit required by the owner, Mr Lee - he does not have any international bank account, so no way to pay him without being helped by a Korean friend! UPDATED INFORMATION: I TALKED TO THE MANAGER THROUGH HIS JAPANESE-SPEAKING FRIEND BY PHONE AND THEY PROMISED NOT TO REQUIRE DEPOSIT FROM FOREIGNERS, SO THE OBSTACLE NO. 2 SHOULD NO LONGER EXIST! The pension itself is fairly good - semi-detached houses sleeping a number of people depending on the size of the house you choose. Our house (Ashley) can sleep as many as 4 people, there are two double beds (one is upstairs), it is fully equipped and the staff would go out of their way to help you, and you get some extras such as fruit and tea in the evening, free of charge. Pros: - helpful staff (regardless of the language problem) - nice setting at a creek - good opportunities for trips in the Gangwon province - hearty and tasty breakfast - good value for your money (but we may have a special price as first foreigners to come here, so check the price) Minor problems: - poor soundproof insulation (if you have neighbours in the semi-detached house, you get some noise from them, but it is acceptable) - barbecue next to our house - you get smoke and grilled meat odours into your room, but it happened just once in a week and was not a big problem - poor temperature control in the room (it was almost impossible for us to control the room temperature - one night we got 32 C, and then we had a cold night - the room temperature did not respond to our attempts to control it , however, this may be a problem due to our lack of knowledge of the controls system, when local staff did it, it worked - SO ASK THEM TO DO IT FOR YOU! By and large, it is a good place and we would definitely recommend it to all those who want to be accommodated in the Korean countryside and get the feel of local life (regardless of the language problem) Stock up with cash in Seoul as the local rural bank does not change Euro!