Thanksgiving: Korea Edition

The leaves have finally changed and fallen which means we have officially entered the holiday season. Although I have never been obsessed with any particular holiday, I was wondering how I would fare being away from home for the first time during the holiday season. Christmas is pretty widely celebrated or at least acknowledged here but for obvious reasons, American Thanksgiving is not. To make things feel a bit more like home, my friends and I decided to go on a weekend trip and celebrate Thanksgiving as best as we could.

For this trip, we decided on Jeonju. Jeonju is the cultural city of Korea and is located in Jeollabukdo or the North Jeolla Province which is directly north of, you guessed it, South Jeolla Province. Jeonju is most famous for the Hanok Village. Hanoks are traditional Korean homes. You can see them scattered throughout most cities still in Korea but Jeonju has a vast village dedicated to preserving this style of home specifically. It is especially beautiful in the fall so we figured this would be a great time and place to celebrate a fall holiday. 

From the Gwangju bus terminal to the Jeonju bus terminal, it is around an hour and a half ride. When traveling between bigger cities, I always think it’s a good idea to buy your return ticket as soon as you get to the terminal in the other city that way seats don’t sell out on your way back. 

After arriving in Jeonju, we got the city bus to the Hanok Village. We were lucky enough to find an Airbnb located right in the Hanok Village that had great reviews from many other foreigners. The alleys in between these small and quaint houses can be quite the maze but we managed to find the right house pretty easily. This house was so cute and an amazing cultural experience as well. With two lofts, a queen-sized bed, and a closet stocked full of floor mattresses and blankets, you would be able to comfortably have a group gathering of six people. The kitchen was also well stocked with cooking utensils and ingredients to aid our thanksgiving feast. 

After relaxing in the house some, we walked around the tourist area of the village. The village has the traditional houses as well many shops, cafes, and restaurants. What is the most interesting about walking around is feeling like you just time-traveled to the Joseon Dynasty. Not only is the architecture that of the past, but so is the fashion. You can easily spot a Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) rental store. Families, friends, and couples can rent Hanboks of all varieties for the day to take pictures and walk around the village. It was awesome to see all these intricate and beautiful outfits being worn by so many people. 

The walking started to make us quite hungry so we walked to a nearby grocery for extra ingredients for our Thanksgiving dinner. We got back to the house and began to make our feast. We already had some imported Thanksgiving goods (thanks mom!) to be the main courses but we also made a charcuterie board and mulled wine to go with the food. Although a struggle to make a Thanksgiving meal without an oven, we made it work. All of us were super excited to have a meal that reminded us of home. I absolutely love Korean cuisine but having actual stuffing and mashed potatoes away from home felt very special. I was so thankful to have a great group of friends to spend Thanksgiving with despite all of us being miles and miles from home. A filling meal and some chaotic rounds of Uno later and we were all ready to get to bed for another fun-filled day!

Day two started with a quick cleaning of the house before we sadly said goodbye to our temporary Hanok. We took a short walk to a cafe for some coffee and raspberry yogurt. The cafe had a spectacular view of the village.

We then headed to Gyeonggijeon Shrine which has many buildings dating all the way back to the 17th century. Inside the grounds, you can learn about Korean history. It also has the Royal Portrait Museum where the portrait of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, is on display. As an American, I don’t have much formal education regarding Korea and its history so I am always excited to learn more. As an added bonus, we got to see a changing of the guards’ demonstration on our way out!

We only had a few hours left of our time in Jeonju and the last thing we wanted to accomplish was filling our stomachs with Jeonju’s famous bibimbap. Since Jeonju specializes in this flavorful dish, there were a plethora of restaurants to choose from. We were recommended by a tourist guide to try out 한국집 (translated as “Korean Home”) which was famous for its Michelin star bibimbap. It absolutely lived up to the high praises since I scarfed down the whole bowl and had a good amount of the 반찬 (side dishes) as well. Along with the bibimbap, we had moju which is spiced rice wine. It dangerously tasted more like an apple cider rather than a rice wine and I am now on the hunt for my own bottle to have at home! We walked off some of the food for a bit more and did some shopping around the village one last time before heading back to the bus terminal and back home to Gwangju. 

I know I say this about the majority of the places I visit in Korea but I feel I only scraped the surface of Jeonju and hope to visit again soon. A culturally rich city with many amazing sights was the best way to spend my first holiday away from home. 

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Thankfulness

I was talking with my friends at a cafe in Jeonju about our experience applying with EPIK. How it was a long and strenuous process and each of us ran into setbacks along the way. Yet there we were, sitting cross-legged at a floor table, sipping on our lattes, overlooking the breathtaking landscape. I am immensely proud of myself for getting to this point. I am also proud I have pushed myself to get out of my apartment every weekend and explore a new place in this country.

However, I am also aware that along with my hard work, I had privilege as well to help me get to this point. I would be astute to not acknowledge this privilege I have in many facets of my life. I had the time and financial means to apply for EPIK and I had the support of my family and friends to aid me along the process. I realize not everybody is awarded these privileges. With that being said, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to list some things I am thankful for. 

• I am thankful for my sweet mumsy who sent me a Thanksgiving care package to make our meal.
• I am thankful for my friends back home who all sent me messages wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving.
• I am thankful for my dad and sister who always wants to hear about my latest adventure.
• I am thankful for my squad here in Korea who makes every day here even more spectacular and fun.
• I am thankful for the nice tour guide who let us leave our heavy bags in her office while we walked around Jeonju even though she didn’t have to. 
• I am thankful for my awesome students who give me a reason to smile every day.
• I am thankful for Gwangju and how it has become a second home. No matter where I visit in Korea, I always feel a sense of comfort returning back to good ol’ Gwangju. 
• I am thankful for the millions of cafes in Korea that give me a needed midday boost during my adventures.
• I am thankful for Korea, I learn more and more about myself every day as I traverse this country.

I could go on and on but the point is, I am forever grateful I am able to have this opportunity. Not a day goes by here that I don’t stop, look around, and think to myself, this is quite the life I am living.