My second, but first full day in Jeonju was spent leisurely exploring the Hanok Village (day 1 here). As it was a Monday morning there weren’t very many people around and many of the shops were closed but this gave us the advantage of having the place to ourselves and there was still plenty to see…
It was fun peering through people’s front gates to see their resplendent houses. Many store wood under the front porch (대청 – daecheong) which is burnt to keep the building warm in winter.
A few of the Hanok’s are open to the public as “living museum” type attractions. This one appears to have been built more recently. I’d love to take a sabbatical off work and learn how they are made. Anyone looking for an apprentice carpenter?
When entering this type of house you should leave your shoes outside and wear slippers or go barefoot. The tables are low so there are no chairs and only small mats for sitting on. The construction of the house means that even in hot weather they are surprisingly cool inside.
I imagine that these gas/water mains were installed at a later date than the original buildings – I quite like the contrasting colours here.
Down a small backstreet, we discovered a quaint cafe named Konggan – Bom (“Space – Spring”) with a beautiful garden and a few tasty treats in store…
Espresso and vanilla ice cream (to be mixed) – not something you would normally find me sipping but an interesting combination nevertheless. I’m still not a coffee/tea fan.
Churros – a fried dough pastry snack coated in sugar from Spain originally. Served warm and most delicious.
After this, we headed into Jeonju town centre and had a wander through the main shopping streets. It always depresses me when even in a small city like this you can still find Starbucks and a host of other western multinationals.
In the evening we had a simple meal of cold Vietnamese noodles with sliced beef and spring rolls before heading back to the guest house to crash out exhausted from all the walking.
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