Jeonju and the beachy beach.

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Ok, so at the weekend we went to Jeon-ju, about 4 hours drive from Seoul to look around Hanok Village. It was quaint and quiet and full of charm. We had a look around 16th century schools, surrounded by mountains and greenery (so jealous) and went to the Jeon-ju culture centre to do some 'experimental activities'. I picked 'musical instrument' and we ended up playing the Korean Drum Janggu, with two types of sticks. It was so fun, and the teacher was fun although he spoke no English. I came to realise very quickly that music is universal and there is no need for language. Some people got to cook Bibimbap, which we had for lunch earlier in the day. Bibimbap is a traditional Korean meal with lots of veg, an egg and rice on the side. You tip the rice into the veg, along with a spicy sauce and mix it all together. We had about TWENTY side dishes which included fish on the bone, loads of different types of kimchi, potato, and this leaf that had been soaked in something wild smelling, almost smelt like alcohol but without the burning alcohol aroma.

For dinner we dined in a very modest, very authentic seafood restaurant (Jeon-ju is by the sea) where the layout was very similar. There were burners on the table where a fish soup was bubbling away and the side dishes are piled on top of each other, fighting for our attention. There was spicy pork, sashimi, garlic cloves, various veggies... It was really good. I feel I'm really getting to see an identity in Korean food now. It's mostly red (from all the chillis and chilli paste) and mostly veggie, with occasional meat dishes. I'd say if there were 15-20 dishes on the table, 1 would be meaty. Although, if you'd like meat, Korean's clearly like fried chicken and beer, as there is a 'hof' on every street in central Seoul.

We then reached the resort and after a bit of unpacking we headed to the beach, a 2 minute walk from my room. It was amazing, a warm night filled with soju which is an alcoholic spirit drink, very popular in Korea as it's about £1.50-£2 for a bottle. I think it's about 20%, and many people drink it with beer. We chatted on the beach for hours, slowly consuming and enjoying company. I found out that I had a mutual friend with a Swedish girl on the programme. How funny that you can meet someone half way across the world that reminds you of home. Not only am I learning about Korean and Asian culture but about American and European too. Tina (the Sweed) offered me some Snus, a sort of chewing tobacco. I'd never heard of it before so had a go and actually really enjoyed it. So blah blah blah we all got drunk and stumbled back to our rooms, only to be woken at 9 for breakfast and a little more beach time before we made our way back to Seoul. I really connected with some people this weekend which is nice, but also it made me realise who I want to be friends with and who I'll watch from the sidelines. It's like being in high school again sometimes, people looking out for someone to 'get with', terrible flirting and too many shrill accents competing with each other. Ahhhh social politics.

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