Korea: Jeonju, Namwon, Hwaomsa, Hadong

To finish off orientation here in Korea I went with my group on a three day excursion to the Southern part of S. Korea. We made stops in Jeonju, Namwon, Hwaeomsa, and a village in Hadong. It was a great way to see more of the country, experience more of the culture, and try more food. Here is what we did during the trip:


Day 1: Travel to Jeonju

Jeonju bibimbap

Up early in the morning we all boarded the bus with our tour guides to head south to Jeonju, which is about half way between the center of S. Korea and the western coast. Our first break from travelling was at a Korean rest stop. Apparently they are particularly famous for their food, so my roommate (Crystal), one of the other group members (Parth) and I tried the 만두 (mandu, Korean dumpling which Crystal and I have absolutely fallen in love with!). It was good, worth it. We then continued to Jeonju, a city famous for its 비빔밥 (bibimbap). Now by this point we had pretty much all tried bibimbap, but since we were in the bibimbap city, we had to have some more. Honestly, pretty much all of the food here in Korea is good, although a bit spicier than I am used to, so saying that any particular dish is good would just be redundant after saying I got it in Korea (from here forward I will only comment on the extremely odd foods, or particularly good/bad foods).

The lion mask (meant for 2 people)

After lunch we learned about the traditional Korean mask dance. This was a participatory lesson, so we all took off our shoes (custom here when entering a room) and made our best attempts at dancing. Some of us (and by us I really mean some of the others) were good, others, including myself, ranged from okay to not good. It was still fun, though. The mask dance lesson was in an old Korean school, which we also got to look around. What is left of traditional Korean architecture is beautiful. The school was right along a river so we went for a stroll, and climbed up the hill (at the top of which there was a pavilion so we once again took our shoes off) to get a better view of the region.
It was then time to check in to where we would be staying for the night, the 한옥 말 (Hanok Maeul, Hanok Village). We spent the night in traditional Korean houses.

Jeonju at night

Once again this meant shoes off within the rooms, which were maybe half the size of a typical American bedroom (although, what is typical?) and slept four of us. How did we manage? We all slept on the floor, of course! But hey, when in Korea, do as the Koreans do. The floors here are virtually all heated which makes it more comfortable, if not too warm. From there we continued touring the city as a group a little more before we were set off to do as we pleased with the evening. As night set in we made our way to the shopping district for dinner and to explore a bit. The whole area was lit up and very American. The shops ranged from Guess to Dunkin' Donuts to an NBA store. There was even an amusement park ride on the roof top of one of the buildings (I opted to watch as some of the others went on it). We then had to head back to make it in by curfew (midnight).


Day 2: Travel to Hwaeomsa

After breakfast we set off to a paper museum where we learned the art of traditional Korean paper making. We even each got to make our own sheet of paper. Then we loaded the bus again and continued our journey to Namwon, the city of love. We toured around Gwanghallu Garden, learned the history of the city and the love story of Chunhyang. A local governor tried to force her to marry him although the man she was in love with was away for political affairs.

Chunhyang refused to give in to the advances of the governor, and is now honored for her devotion to the man she loved. While in the park we also got to try our best at the old swings which each year there are traditionally contests to see which girl could swing the highest. None of us would have won, although our coordinator did pretty well. Once again we stopped for food (lunch complete with mandu and really good sweat potato something...I know, I know, I said I would only comment on food that was particularly good. Well, this definitely qualified!), and then continued on to Hwaemosa.
Hwaemosa is an old Korean Buddhist temple that is still active. It's about 1500 years old, although it was burnt down during the Japanese invasion around 1600 AD. It has since been rebuilt, but it does not have quite the same grandeur as before.

That being said, it is still quite amazing. We even got the honor of witnessing the evening prayer ceremony. I was impressed by the monks' discipline. While I was only observing, I found it hard to sit still for the duration of the ceremony. I suppose it helps, though, that they 1) have practiced and 2) are moving throughout it.
We were then off to dinner, during which Parth, Britney, and I delighted our coordinator and tour guides with hospital/injury stories. It was a nice way to conclude yet another eventful day in Korea. Even though we were staying in a hotel we were still set up in the traditional Korean manner on the heated floors. It was kind of like a slumber party, staying up, eating ice cream, watching movies...


Day 3: Return to Seoul

By this point my camera was pretty much dead, but I managed to squeeze out a few last photos. To start the day we saw a traditional Korean tea ceremony. Now, I don't really understand much of what happened during the ceremony, but I was still very interested to watch. To sum it up, the tea master pours hot water between pots, bowls, and cups, along with tea leaves, and after doing so for a while is satisfied that he/she has made good tea and ends the ceremony. Personally, I am a fan of both tea and the snacks that were served with the tea, and this tea was good tea. It was grown by the tea master we watched in the ceremony, which is special. And I'm pretty sure we pleased him by how much tea we drank!
We then started our long bus ride back to Seoul. Along the way we first stopped at Hadong Village. It is the location of some famous Korean movie that I had never heard of (and have quickly forgotten the name of). While there I stopped at one of the street vendors to try what was being offered, for free. Lesson: if it's free, it might not be desirable. I proceeded to eat bundigie (Silk worm larvae). Now if you are grossed out hearing that I ate that, imagine my displeasure when I found out what it was. See, I was hesitant when I thought it was just a bug. It wasn't until after I ate it that I learned exactly what it was. Would I do it again? maybe, but not likely. Was it good? It was edible...ish. I chased it with Hotteok (Korean style pancake). We soon continued on our way, stopping for lunch (I was displeased by it; perhaps because I was over tired from two nights of sleeping on the floor, perhaps it was the residual idea that I had just eaten larvae), at a Korean market, and finally at another rest stop, before arriving back in Seoul.


The excursion was packed with cultural experiences. It was also a good way to bond with the other students on the program right before we all started classes. At this point I have survived one week of classes, but I'll save the details of that for next time. As for now, it's time to get some sleep so I can have more adventures tomorrow :)