A Five Senses Journey Worth Sharing: Korea and Portugal in 2027

A brush moving across hanji. Rice worked by hand before fermentation to be turned into makgeolli. A conversation at a seafood stall that continues in the kitchen and around a shared table.

These were some of the moments that stayed with us after our Korea scouting trip. Each offered a way into the culture: through a skill, a story, a flavor, or the knowledge of someone who had spent years learning their craft.

They also helped clarify what we want to create at Five Senses Retreats in 2027.

Alongside a cultural journey through Korea, we are actively developing a retreat on Portugal’s Atlantic coast, planned for mid-May. Both begin with the same intention: to experience a place through all five senses, with time to participate, connect, and take it in.

Slow travel with a purpose

Slow travel means giving an experience the attention it deserves. It means staying with a question, trying something unfamiliar, and allowing a conversation to unfold. The purpose is to understand more through participation and to leave space for what we discover to settle.

Learning can be restorative.

When our hands are occupied with a brush or ingredients, our attention has somewhere new to go. Listening to someone explain a tradition can move us beyond familiar ways of thinking. An unfamiliar aroma, texture, sight, taste, or sound can bring us back to what is happening right in front of us.

Rest and cultural discovery belong together.

A journey can engage our curiosity while giving us a break from our usual routines. The pacing matters: time to learn, time to be quiet, and time to talk about what surprised us.

Korea, through the people who know it

Throughout the scouting trip, we sought out local experts whose knowledge could help travelers experience Korea more deeply. Some of the practitioners we encountered have devoted more than 50 years to their craft. That depth of experience changes an encounter. A finished object becomes the starting point for understanding the patient work behind it.

In Seoul, calligraphy at Hoek Heritage and Feel So Good Calli connected the story of Hangul with the physical experience of writing. Grinding ink and feeling a brush move across hanji encouraged close attention to materials and movement. At Baekusaeng and The Sool Company, working rice by hand and tasting makgeolli, a traditional Korean rice wine, brought brewing traditions into the senses through texture, aroma, and flavor.

At Hoek Heritage in Seoul, learning about Hangul became a hands-on encounter with brush, ink, and hanji.

Andong added another layer to our understanding of paper. A tour of the largest hanji factory in Korea and museum introduced the craft behind a material we had already used for calligraphy. For the future journey, we hope to include the opportunity to make hanji ourselves. Nearby, music and laughter filled the air at a mask performance in Hahoe Village, followed by quieter walks between tiled and thatched homes.

Music, movement, and shared laughter brought the mask performance at Hahoe Village to life.

In Tongyeong, the artisan at Gyeoldero, an award-winning artisan Shin Miseon showed us how she works and shared her finished mother-of-pearl pieces. Watching the shell catch the light invited us to look more closely at the detail. We are exploring a workshop where travelers can try this locally rooted craft with their own hands.

At Gyeoldero in Tongyeong, a closer look revealed the intricate shell patterns in the artisan’s finished work.

On Geoje, Haenyeo Academy introduced us to the stories and knowledge surrounding Korea’s centuries-old tradition of women divers. We hope to pair that learning with a guided introduction to diving, offering a chance to feel the sea firsthand and begin to understand it through the divers’ experience.

Dating back to the 17th century, haenyeo (literally "sea women") are free-divers who harvest seafood from the ocean floor without using oxygen tanks, often diving up to 20 meters (60 feet).

In Busan, Jiyou Kang at Baeromodi, a Busan-native, connected the market, kitchen, and table. Exploring Jagalchi Market, the largest fish market in Korea, with her brought local knowledge to the seafood stalls. Cooking afterward carried that learning into the aromas, sizzling sounds, and flavors of the meal we prepared and shared.

The meal we prepared with Busan-born chef at Baeromodi brought our market and kitchen discoveries to the table.

These encounters are helping shape our Korea journey for 2027. The final itinerary, dates, and pricing are in development, but the direction is clear: experiences connected to particular places, opportunities to learn by doing, and thoughtful pacing throughout.

The pleasure of discovering together

Traveling with others adds something of its own. Someone notices a detail we missed. A question opens up a new conversation. Around the table afterward, we hear how the same experience felt different to each person.

There is pleasure in being a beginner together, comparing first attempts, and sharing the surprise of an unfamiliar taste or a newly understood story. Those exchanges can deepen both our enjoyment and our understanding.

We want to bring together people who share a curiosity about the world and an openness to one another. There will be room for quiet and personal reflection, alongside time to share what we are feeling and learning. Our hope is that people arrive as strangers and leave with friendships that continue long after the journey.

Portugal: Atlantic air, local culture, and time to settle

That same approach is guiding our Portugal retreat, which we are actively scoping around São João das Lampas and the Sintra–Ericeira coast for mid-May 2027.

Portugal’s Atlantic coast is the setting we are exploring for a sensory retreat tentatively planned for mid-May 2027.

We are exploring a small-group experience shaped by the region’s landscape, food, wine, craft, and music. The possibilities include working with clay and tiles, discovering local wine through taste and aroma, walking along the Atlantic coast, listening to live Portuguese music and story telling, and gathering for unhurried meals and intimate musical encounters.

Mindfulness, sensory awareness, and gentle somatic movement practices with Ana Marques from Movement in My Constant will help connect these experiences: settling into the surroundings, noticing more, and giving ourselves time to absorb what the day brings.

We are building meaningful free time into the retreat, too. A quiet pause, a conversation that continues after lunch, or time simply to enjoy the surroundings belongs in the experience.

The details and local partnerships are being developed, and we look forward to sharing more as the plans become firm.

Join us as the plans take shape

Korea and Portugal offer different landscapes, traditions, and rhythms. What connects them is our invitation to be curious, take part, and experience the pleasure of discovering a place together.

If either journey speaks to you, we would love to hear from you.

Email hello@fivesensesretreats.com and tell us whether you are interested in Korea, Portugal, or both, so we can keep you updated as dates and details are announced.