Experience with your five senses

By Shim Hyun-chul

The aromatic smell of powdered soybean for injeolmi, a kind of glutinous rice cake, fills the room.

Some 20 visually-impaired people gathered for a rice cake making course at the National Folk Museum of Korea, next to Gyeongbok Palace, central Seoul. Though they cannot see the “dough” they hold, they can feel the warm and soft rice cake with their hands. After making it, they taste it and feel its glutinous texture fully in their mouth.

Park Ok-ja, who is visually-impaired, and participated in the program, said it gave her an opportunity to make rice cakes by herself. "I was diffident about cooking by myself, but it was more fun and meaningful than I expected. I will try it at home," Park said.

The museum offers customized experience programs for the physically challenged. The "Five Senses Folk Experience" program aims to provide the real experience of traditional culture such as rice cake making through the various senses including sound, touch, taste and smell.

There are two courses in the program ― rice cake making and pottery making ― available for groups of around 20 visually-impaired people over 14years old.

For the pottery-making program, the participants will touch old earthenware and make their own using their senses.

For more information, visit www.nfm.go.kr or call (02) 3704-3131.