Korea is a peninsular country. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, it is endowed with beautiful coastlines and beaches, expansive tidal flats, and an interior landscape where plains and mountains are evenly distributed. Owing to these geographical characteristics, many places across Korea have long developed into healing environments where simply gazing at nature, walking through it, and spending time within it allows both body and mind to relax. Among them, Buan County in Jeollabuk-do Province stands out as a rare case where the sea and tidal flats, plains and mountains, and human ways of life are densely interwoven within a single region.
The seas and shores of Buan greet travelers with ever-changing expressions of light, shifting countless times throughout the day. Its tidal flats are living ecological spaces where innumerable microorganisms coexist, continuously generating life. Spread across these tidal flats are solar salt fields, producing one of nature’s most elemental gifts through the combined action of sunlight, wind, soil, and water. The salt born in this way flows naturally into the fermented seafood—jeotgal—of Gomso in Buan County.
Concentrating the flavor and vitality of the sea, jeotgal forms the foundation of Korean fermented cuisine and has long sustained kimchi and jang. It is an indispensable element for understanding Korean food culture.
This book follows the Gomso–Naesosa healing axis in Buan County, Jeollabuk-do, examining how Korea’s traditions of solar salt and jeotgal, together with temple culture and meditation practices, harmonize within a single region to create a distinctive healing experience. It also explores why this place can become a global healing destination—not only for Koreans but also for international travelers—offering opportunities that go beyond seeing, eating, and staying, toward restoring balance to both body and mind.