More treats from Jeju-do, before the return home…First we have pheasant from Mt. Halla.  Simply serve it grilled, in a marinade of sesame oil, sea salt, and toasted sesame seeds, with some reserved for a dipping sauce. Cook over an open flame and be surprised at how much it does and does not taste like chicken.

Pleasant fire-grilled pheasant

If you’re still hungry, try some of the local black-skinned pork. It’s softer and more supple than the mainland pork, supposedly, and has 5 layers — fat to meat to fat to meat to skin — unlike the Seoul pigs with only three layers.

Jeju pork awaiting slicing, soju, and kimchi

For dessert, grab yourself a young ginseng root. Dip it in local Jeju honey. Chew. Repeat.

Medicinal and sweet...but a little stringy

Pick up a steamed barley bread and a steamed wormwood (yes, you read that right) bread as a snack after your meal. The wormwood  is the same herb that makes the infamous abstinthe. Like the drink, you’ll find a cache of melted sugar on the inside, if you take a bite. The wormwood is diffuse enough so it gives a green herbal taste, but not an anise overload.

Barley and wormwood, from left to right

Finally, if you’re brave and your stomach is still willing, follow the smell like a damp old Persian rug shop. It should lead you to a simmering pot of silkworm larvae. These are boiled and then served up hot, and are a favorite of many elderly people in Korea.

Tastes like chicken?