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Published: November 21st 2012
Travelling light is a thing of the past! Gone are the days of only having a backpack and day-pack each. (Hopefully not gone for good, they can return when the kids are bigger!) We are still “backpacking” with a backpack and day-pack each, plus a small holdall for the girls clothes and the Macpac possum child carrier which Colin uses to carry Samara. She has her own day-pack but we try to put it in one of our bags when travelling. It doesn't help that we are carrying a travel cot for Katrina. Its a great small one (small relative to other porta cots!), a LittleLife Arc2.
Even with all our baggage, we are still stopping in several places during our two weeks in Korea. If you don't count an over night stay at an Incheon Airport hotel, the city of Jeonju is the first stop of our Korean adventure.
Jeonju 19 – 22 Nov 2012
Jeonju is described as a relaxed, unassuming city with ginkgo lined streets. From what we have seen, the older area, the Hanok Village, is relaxed but the newer areas are frenetic. But then, we haven't seen much of Seoul yet! The traffic we met driving through southern Seoul
on the bus was pretty chaotic. We stayed in Jeonju Guest-house which is on the edge of the Hanok village, and spent most of our time in that area.
It was in Jeonju in the 14
th century that the first kings of the Joseon kingdom were born and the dynasty went on to rule Korea for over 500 years. It was one of the longest lines of kings that the world has seen, though Jeonju was overlooked as the dynastic capital in favour of Seoul.
One of the first places we visited was Gyeonggijeon, a shrine area built in 1410 to house the portrait of the first leader of the Joseon dynasty, King Taejo, a native of Jeonju. The park-like area has been built, destroyed and rebuilt many times, and now looks very clean and new. Still authentic, just not that old! The original portrait of Taejo is hidden safely away and a copy is in its place. We timed our visit perfectly. Thanks to the girls waking early, we were at the complex just after it opened at 9am, and we had the place to ourselves for nearly an hour. We wandered round the ornate buildings and courtyards. As well as
Emergency Escape Ladder
Its the first time I've stayed somewhere with one of these!the portrait hall, there was an annex of official buildings, meeting rooms, kitchens etc, some displays and other shrines. It was a lovely place to just wander round, away from the hustle and bustle of the city outside its walls. A place we could happily let Samara run round, kicking the piles of leaves and checking what was hidden round each corner.
Just along from the main entrance to Gyeonggijeon is the Pungnammun, the only remaining city gate (the others were removed in 1905). Originally built in the late 14
th century as part of the city walls, the present structure dates from 1768 and was restored in 1978. I'm sure it was once impressive, but now it is, not so much dwarfed, but overwhelmed by the surrounding ugly buildings. It sits in the middle of a circle of road and drab modern buildings.
We spent some time wandering round the Hanok village, an area of mainly traditional buildings that are still a functioning part of the city rather than a staged open air museum. Again, like the Gyeonggijeon, many of the buildings look a lot newer than we expected, and there is plenty of revitalising / rebuilding going on. There are little
Pungnammun
From the front museums and galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars, guest-houses and private houses, all on cobbled roads and dusty alleyways. Some parts were clean and shiny and new, all neat and tidy, and some areas were more lived in, more real, right down to the sewage stench.
Towards the south east corner is a small hill with a monument and ornate building on top. Omokdae is here Taejo Seonggae Lee, that first king of the Joseon dynasty, stayed and threw a banquet on his return from defeating a bunch of Japanese pirates in 1380. There were some nice views down over the city (old and new) from the hill, though the trees did get in the way a bit. You could see the old roof tops spreading out and meeting the much taller, much uglier newer buildings.
One of Korea's signature dishes is Bibimbap, a bowl or dish of rice and vegetables with meat or egg on top, served with lots of side dishes. It was originally a religious dish derived from the five principal colours of Korean Buddhism. Red of the red-pepper paste, yellow of the egg yolk, white rice, blue for the meat and green from the vegetables. Jeonju has taken this
Pungnammun
from the back dish and made it its own by adding different and varied ingredients to the main dish and the multitude of side dishes. We treated ourselves to some for lunch one day in the Hanok village. Not being foodies or experienced in Korean cuisine, we cant really say a lot about it. Colin and I were served a bowl of rice, veggies, beans and bean-sprouts each and we all had a bowl of bean-sprout 'soup'. The side dishes were a mix of vegetables, fish and beef, many highly spiced. Samara was reasonably adventurous for a 2 year old and tried several dishes, but not enough to fill her little tummy, inhaling an emergency muesli bar and banana back at the hostel. Did we like it? Sure, it was tasty and filling, and definitely interesting trying to work out what was in each dish. Would we rush out and get it again? Maybe, depends what else was on the menu. I'm sure we'll encounter it many times while we are here. We asked for a mild version, and if that was mild, we'd hate to try the spicy one. We could add however much of the red paste we wanted, but there
were chillis in many of the side dishes, either raw or in the sauce. And just because Samara treats sweet chilli sauce like tomato sauce, doesn't mean she is happy munching on a chilli, green or red.
Near the south-east corner of the hanok village is the former Confucian academy, Jeonju Hyanggyo. It was built in 1603 and apparently some of the buildings there are original. It was very quiet when we arrived – first thing in the morning again! There were several ginkgo trees with a couple meant to be over 400 years old, so possibly there before the academy was built. The ginkgo trees were planted for the first scholars as they are immune to infection (worms) and they are symbolic to the students for growing strong and uncorrupted.
Just across the road from the south eastern corner of the hanok village is a pavilion hanging off the rock face. Hanbyeokdang was a place for poets and contemplation. Originally built in 1404, it overlooks the river and the built up city beyond. I'm sure in 1404 it was a stunning view!
The hostel owner told us about a pool complex near the hostel that he reckoned was popular with Korean families.
We didn't get Samara all excited about going for a swim luckily as it turned out to be a spa complex (spas, saunas and a small gym) with some outside pools that were closed for the winter. So instead we walked up to what the map marked as the “street that is desired to walk”. No knowing what to expect, we found a semi-pedestrian mall full of boutique and labelled stores. We are not sure if it is desired to walk as in being a pedestrian only street or desired to walk as in you desire to walk (and shop) along it. It lead to Film Street (movie theatres etc) and attractive street of youth (more high end stores).
Walking that area, and the more 'ordinary' streets around it, felt more like the Korea we imagined than the hanok village we have spent most of our time in. A concrete jungle, bustling streets of people and traffic, a mix of market stalls and shops catering for all bank balances. The hanok village has been really interesting to explore, more so maybe than the street that is desired to walk, though both give an insight into the culture here. The old village
was certainly more peaceful and easier to navigate.
Travelling with the kids has been easy so far, though we are only a few days into this trip so things could change. They have adapted well and are coping with all the stimulation and constant attention. Its hard to find time to write this though!
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Great to see you on the road again...
and traveling with kids must be fun...