Jeonju Trip (part 11: The Last Part): Hanok Village from Aground

While I had a chance, I strolled around the village to see closer what it look like from aground. Wit so many labyrinth-like alleys zigzagging around the village, I did not have ample time to sample all of them, 

so instead..I might as well walk into one of them up close.

hmm..clean and not a single person was visible. 

gallery like this was one of the features easily found at the alley. 

going deeper into the alley and I think..I got lost. hmm... 

Thank God...there was another alley leading to God knows where... 

and it seemed to be dragging me further into.... 

arrays of guest houses.... 

which turned out to be a hip place for backpackers travelling to Jeonju. 

phew...I got out of the alley and then...got to find my way back into the parking lot. 

Before I knew...I was at one of the busy entrance to the village. 

and this! oh, Even CNN travel recommended this cafe--which dubbed to be a place to view the whole Hanok Village. 

Jeonju Trip (part 10): Jeonju Hanok Village from Atop the Hill

The sunlight obscured the landscape that I was expecting to be spectacular. Though it was not that spectacular as I had imagined, still..this slow city retained itself to be what it best boasts itself: the landscape full of traditional Korean roof-tiles house which of course...a quite a sight in itself. 

I wished those cars had not been there:) But that would also be an impossible feat to beat since cars are surely allowed to enter the village as it was after all..a city within a city..or  a village within a city. 

Zooming it in....and voila...the daily lives are captured on camera. Of course, they look traditional in appearance, but the superficial look does not necessarily mean that its inhabitants are not allowed to get access into modernity, right?

Anyone an spot what I mean? 

Up..and up the hill, I could now see clearly what the landscape would be like. Oh, Jeonju turned out to be full of high-rises, too...seen from afar. 

Panoramic view of well-I-should-have-lowered-my-angle picture.

sorry... 

With digitally restored picture, the sunlight added depth into the winter atmosphere that I felt when I took this photograph.

Jeonju Trip (Part 9): Off-Beat Activities

 Off-beat activities? like off-road activities? well, sort of...I mean..not-on-the-street-activities a.k.a. indoor activities: pottery making and ^^eating.:-)

We got a chance to try our expertise in making pottery and decorating it, as well.

The good thing about it was that..we could mold the pottery every way we wanted to. 

and then...write anything..literally anything on it.

The downside was one: We got to wait for another 3 weeks before we receive this works of art by postal service.^^

Then...along came the dinner time. Again and again...I could only enjoy the look of the food since most of these food contain meat!!! oh nooo....I could not even taste it. 

so...the camera did the talking.!!

Another off-beat activities that I meant to tell is again and again.......dinner time. Well, who would've expected that we would be treated to have the full-course of Korean dinner. Gee..look at the price tag!! That's insane.
If I were not a vegetarian, I would be glad to dig into this treat. But, I am. So...I think I could only enjoy 20% of the whole food.^^
aha!!!!!!

* oops, these pictures do not relate to the off-beat activities since they were outdoor ones.
*** oh, well...

Okay...now this was one architectural design that kept me wondering as to what it was when the guide asked us what that was. And..since I remembered that anyone riding horses should get off from their horses before entering the shrine....so I thought that it must be horse stall.^^

but...it IS NOT. It turned out to be a storage for plates, spoons, chopsticks, and other kitchen utensils!!! *oh, dear!!!

Jeonju Trip (Part 8): Here We Go Again

This is the mini bus that took us from Seoul to Jeonju. Since not many students participated in the trip, the school provided this mini bus to serve our trip--which turned out to be quite okay.

But...this signboard got my attention!! I just realized that there was this "Foreign Tourist on Board" sign posted on the front window of the bus.

Gosh...it felt like this was nothing more than "BABY ON BOARD" sign!!!

gee...................!!!!!!

I mean...was this really necessary???^-^

what do you think? 

anyway...that's not important. What matters then was that...we safely arrived in Jeonju and had fun exploring the Hanok Village. 

During free-time, I got a chance to explore again parts of the village and ended up in this Teddy Bear shop.

*Gee....my trousers (baji -바지)....these were too baggy for me!!! 

Taking a group photo at Gyeonggijeon area where the Jeondong Cathedral was visible.

Dubbed to be a famous spot for picture. 

Attentively listening while taking pictures of the stone-epitaph erected right in front of the Gyeonggijeon (Royal Shrine). "Get off/Un-mount from your horse" line was carved on this stone to tell any visitors or anyone visiting the shrine to respect the place. 

The stone was suspended on two statues of lion and lioness. Judged from their 'rears', it is obvious that the right one was indeed that of the female one.:) 

From the front facade of the stone. I put this on this blog so as to make me remember what the guide told us.  

The gate to the Shrine. Again and again..this is the typical architectural Korean gate to any shrine or any historical sites that anyone can see across the country. 

*The inside facade.

Jeonju Trip (part 7): Street Food

We found Tarae: supposed to be the royal snacks presented to the kings or guests of kings. Made of honey and malt and made into tiny fibers or strands...suggesting longevity.

Oh, it is easily found in Seoul, too, especially in Myeongdong or Insadong. 

This is what Jeonju Hanok Village looks like. The streets are not made of asphalt but tiles, the tiny ones.....:) hmm, interesting. 

Back to the street food, we can see how ta-rae is made right in front of our eyes to 'incite' our appetite to buy and taste them.^^ 

and boy oh boy...he just couldn't stop talking!!

I wonder if that's what the royal cook did while preparing the ta-rae to the kings:^^ *chuckles* 

The second street food we encountered is 모주 (moju) or Jeonju's low-alcohol fermented beverage; similar to makgeolli but...well..different. 

okay, back to the ta-rae that we ordered. We had chocolate flavor and green-tea ones (not pictured). Anyway...just look at the strands or fibers of this delicacy. These were made in a matter of minutes..or even seconds... 

and for other street food: well, like any other foods easily encountered at other vendors around the village. 

Jeonju Trip (part 6): Fan Museum (부채박물관)

As like any other buildings in Jeonju, the wooden tiles, roofs, and pillars are the most striking features of even building like this museum, Fan Museum. 

Oh, there's no entrance fee. --> a plus.  

As the name suggests, we could see displays of fans made in Korea and other countries; but mostly those of Korea's origins. 

Oh, I snapped a picture of this 'outrageous' functions of fan. I never thought of it before. *I explain this on my special entry. 

then, I saw these three old fans--which must have been a treasure to this museum. I tried to find any inscriptions telling me as to when these were created. But nada....!

But, boy, they look so old... 

Okay, for anyone not interested in museums, well...they surely can skip the tour to museum since this is not that large and quite small in comparison to other museums. But, if you're into antiques especially fans...well...why not take your time to come and visit this museum.

My two Mongolian friends were busy discussing what they were watching. It's in the world's fans display section. I bet they're sort of 'arguing' what they were looking at. 

Hmm..this looks familiar...wait...is it?  

These ones, especially the round one, were definitely bizarre. Hmm..never seen anything like it before.  

This one would definitely be the most well-known rendition of Korea's traditional fans.

 Fan souvenirs probably got the idea from this one. 

Mind you: the one hanging right here on display is simply humongous. 

Thought it was a fly-splatter...but it isn't! 

부채 or fan as the Korean name suggests simply mean that it's a tool made of wood or bamboo (and paper or ...clothes, maybe??) designed in such a way to 'create' wind by flapping the fans by hands.