Experiential value is one of the primary reasons I am living here, and lately I've been lacking in local experiences. Yesterday, I decided to change that. Catching the first subway to the express bus terminal and then the next bus available, I and three of my friends made the way to the renowned southern city of Jeonju.
Since it was only a day trip but the bus ride takes 2 hours, we had to limit our goals while in Jeonju.
The first place we explored after getting off the bus was HanOk village. While it had the appearances of a traditional village, it didn't have the feeling. The buildings looked right. The roads were cobblestone. The palace was like the rest. Unfortunately, besides the architecture, the rest felt strikingly modern. There were coffee shops, street vendors with bad knickknacks, and swanky restaurants.
The highlight of the village was the palace, where we inadvertently became a member of yet another children's field trip. The tour guide was exceptionally welcoming, and made sure that we understood his explanations of some of the architectural features of the palace. He also made all the children greet and bow to us.
Before and after this village roaming, we ate bibimbap. Prior to coming, We had heard two different rumors. One was from fellow westerner and Korean blogger hiddentreasures. Every time we ate bibimbap in Seoul, she reminded me that it just doesn't compare with Jeonju. This city was legendary for having the "stir rice" to end all "stir rices." The other rumor was from my 6th grade students, who claimed that there was nothing special to be had in Jeonju.
We first tried a back alley, local looking place. It was sandwiched between two other clearly non-tourist restaurants and across from an elementary school, on a street that featured no other bibimbap at all. The prices at this restaurant were absurdly cheap, the ingredients were fresh, the stew that came with was above and beyond, but the bibimbap itself was quite bland.
Our second attempt, after the roaming, was at a tourist restaurant. We figured maybe swankier was tastier. While this one was high-quality, with such delightful features as raw steak, it was not the bibimbap to end all bibimbaps.
We decided that maybe it was best we left it that way. While it's a bit disappointing to go to the city of bibimbap and not have the best I'll ever get, it's perhaps more disappointing to spoil an entire dish for the rest of my life.
We moved on to our third goal, the makolri. The most notable difference between this and other rice liquors, like sake or soju, is the filtration. Most rice-based alcohols come clear, like vodka. Makolri, on the other hand, does not have the ground rice filtered out during the fermentation, leaving it opaque and chalky. Think beige Pepto Bismol. While it may take a bowl or two (it is drank from what look like rice bowls) to get used to, it grows on you.
Here, things went much as we expected they would. The price was comparable, the flavor was identical. There were two massive differences, though. The first was that the makolri itself was clear, like a pale apple juice. This was quite surprising, as the taxi driver assured us that it would not be any different than what we could find in Seoul.
The second and most satisfying surprise was that one order of makolri came complete with a spread of food. Everything from stews to fresh fruit, boiled eggs to fried ones, clams to sweet potatoes, oysters to acorn jelly. This offset the price of the drink itself to practically free.
In the end, though neither the bibimbap nor the traditional village blew our minds, we counted the day a success. We thoroughly enjoyed the new scenery, the adventure, and the company.
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| If you zoom in, you can see the contrast of the traditional roofing to the rest of the city scape. |
Since it was only a day trip but the bus ride takes 2 hours, we had to limit our goals while in Jeonju.
- Eat bibimbap, the dish of fresh veggies and rice stirred together with red pepper sauce, until we find the one style that makes this city so famous,
- Explore the traditional HanOk Village, which is the largest zone of the country where people still live exactly as they did hundreds of years ago, and
- Enjoy some of the towns famous makolri, an alcoholic rice beverage.
The highlight of the village was the palace, where we inadvertently became a member of yet another children's field trip. The tour guide was exceptionally welcoming, and made sure that we understood his explanations of some of the architectural features of the palace. He also made all the children greet and bow to us.
 |
| On the edge |
Before and after this village roaming, we ate bibimbap. Prior to coming, We had heard two different rumors. One was from fellow westerner and Korean blogger hiddentreasures. Every time we ate bibimbap in Seoul, she reminded me that it just doesn't compare with Jeonju. This city was legendary for having the "stir rice" to end all "stir rices." The other rumor was from my 6th grade students, who claimed that there was nothing special to be had in Jeonju.
We first tried a back alley, local looking place. It was sandwiched between two other clearly non-tourist restaurants and across from an elementary school, on a street that featured no other bibimbap at all. The prices at this restaurant were absurdly cheap, the ingredients were fresh, the stew that came with was above and beyond, but the bibimbap itself was quite bland.
 |
| Not to say it didn't look delicious. |
Our second attempt, after the roaming, was at a tourist restaurant. We figured maybe swankier was tastier. While this one was high-quality, with such delightful features as raw steak, it was not the bibimbap to end all bibimbaps.
We decided that maybe it was best we left it that way. While it's a bit disappointing to go to the city of bibimbap and not have the best I'll ever get, it's perhaps more disappointing to spoil an entire dish for the rest of my life.
We moved on to our third goal, the makolri. The most notable difference between this and other rice liquors, like sake or soju, is the filtration. Most rice-based alcohols come clear, like vodka. Makolri, on the other hand, does not have the ground rice filtered out during the fermentation, leaving it opaque and chalky. Think beige Pepto Bismol. While it may take a bowl or two (it is drank from what look like rice bowls) to get used to, it grows on you.
Here, things went much as we expected they would. The price was comparable, the flavor was identical. There were two massive differences, though. The first was that the makolri itself was clear, like a pale apple juice. This was quite surprising, as the taxi driver assured us that it would not be any different than what we could find in Seoul.
The second and most satisfying surprise was that one order of makolri came complete with a spread of food. Everything from stews to fresh fruit, boiled eggs to fried ones, clams to sweet potatoes, oysters to acorn jelly. This offset the price of the drink itself to practically free.
In the end, though neither the bibimbap nor the traditional village blew our minds, we counted the day a success. We thoroughly enjoyed the new scenery, the adventure, and the company.
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