Jeonju

This weekend Ashley, Mikel, Dani and I went to Jeonju for a cultural experience. We decided to do a tour rather than venture out on our own because it was only 40,000W for the entire weekend. After a longer than expected bus ride (due to traffic) we arrived in Jeonju around noon. Let me start off by saying that this weekend was absolutely gorgeous. Clear blue skies, sunshine and temperatures in the low to mid 70s. Once we arrived we climbed a bit of a steep trail and ended up overlooking the Hannok (traditional Korean) Villages. We were greeted by beautiful cherry blossom trees and a gaggle of volunteer guides. The guides helped us through the activities of the day, shared meals with us and practiced their English. Most of them were college students, but a few elementary students joined the bunch. One girl in particular, Jenna, took a keen liking to me and we ended up being buddies by the end of the day.

After we took in the view and snapped photos of the cherry blossoms we headed to our cooking class. We learned how to make traditional Jeonju bibimbap, which is a bit different from bibimbap in other parts of Korea and Jeonju claims to be the birthplace of the mixed rice and vegetable dish. We watched our instructor first and then we had a go of it. It was quite easy, but I realized a need for better chopping skills. I never knew how labor intensive bibimbap is, but the end result is quite tasty. We had quite a good time making our dishes and enjoying the fruits of our labor. After lunch we got a glimpse at a traditional wedding ceremony and the got the chance to walk around part of the village. Once our leisure time was finished we headed to Korean etiquette class where we got to dress up in traditional Korean hanboks. We learned that you should wrap it clockwise otherwise it could mean that you are a prostitute. We also learned the correct hairstyles for married and unmarried women. After dressing, we learned the proper bowing technique while wearing a hanbok and the two different bows used. When bowing to elders a more formal bow is used, but when bowing to peers the bow is modified a bit. I found this to be very interesting, but overall, the bibimbap making experience was the best! Once dinner rolled around we were treated to bean sprout and rice soup, it was quite delicious, but not as filling as we had hoped. After dinner we settled into our rooms in a traditional Hannok Village and we had a bit of free time before the musical performance. Once night fell we were treated to traditional Korean music courtesy of stringed instruments, a flute and a beautiful vocal performance. At intermission, we had green tea, rice cakes and various Korean snacks. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Sunday was a bit shorter, but we still managed to pack a lot of things into a short amount of time. We started the morning at a wine museum and then headed to a few souvenir shops. Jeonju is famous for it's paper products and I was tempted to buy a ton of paper, but refrained. After the shops we played a few games (tossing sticks into a bucket and the hoop thing where you have to keep it going without it falling over). At 11, we were escorted to a tea tent and shown how to properly prepare tea and how to behave during a ceremony. Mikel took the lead after our hostess showed us the ropes. The tea itself was delicious, but the experience was amazing. After we had tea we made flower rice cakes. Again, we had a gracious hostess who let me turn the second batch in the pan. These cakes are made from rice powder mixed with water, to create a dough, and then they are pan fried in sunflower oil. We added fresh flowers while they were frying and then they were dipped into a simple syrup. The end result was amazing! After this we had lunch (steamed pork, rice and a million side dishes) and then a few hours of free time which we used to check out a little arts and crafts market and enjoy the afternoon sun. This experience was truly the best I've had in a long time, possibly ever. I had the chance to partake in traditional Korean culture and I have never been so amazed by the people of Korea and Korea itself. I want to learn more and I feel like my last few months here are going to be jam packed with learning and more experiences.