A (Hot) Day in Jeonju

Jeonju was a city that I had never heard of. I just said "yes!" to the sudden trip because it was free (thanks to the shuttle bus from the Jeollabukdo government!) and it was on the weekend. Otherwise, I'd think hundreds of excuses and considerations before going haha.

So the process started by reserving ticket of the shuttle bus. My trip was organized by the Association of Indonesian Students in Korea so someone took care of the ticket. But in case you want to check the Seoul-Jeonju shuttle bus, it's super easy. Just head to shuttle.dongbotravel.com and sign up. Then you can choose the date you want to go. Available for one way or two way trip. Remember to go on weekends before December 27, 2015 to save money for bus ticket! :)))

Things to remember: bring your ticket and passport!

August 2, 2015. We departed from Seoul at 8 AM sharp and reached Jeonju around 11 AM. We walked from the bus stop to the famous Jeonju Hanok Village complex. 

Jeonju saying "Welcome" for us

We were greeted by the bridge that connect us to the beginning of the Hanok Village complex.

group of the day -  PERPIKA Seoul 

The design of the shops and bridge around instantly tell visitors that they are indeed built based on Korean traditional architectures.

one of the alley

I enjoyed walking around the area despite the almost unbearable summer heat. It felt like my hottest summer day ever in Korea.

I spotted many interesting buildings while walking down the road to the Jeongdang Cathedral - which was one of the highlight of the Jeonju Hanok Village.

Cathedral

Because everytime I found Cathedral Church, I feel so nostalgic of my fantastic high school era.

I really wished I could stay a bit longer at the Cathedral area but we were rushed to get to the lunch place which located near the Jungang Cathedral - only 2 stops away. Initially, we wanted to have buffet lunch, only to discover that the restaurant is closed on Sunday. So we came up with idea of having lunch at Save Zone food court, which was a good idea. The B1 food court have adequate choices of Korean set food and reasonable price, starting from 5000 won. I liked my HemulDopBab or Seafood Mixed Rice that worth my 6000 won :D

quite market on Sunday, near Jungang Cathedral

barely saw anyone

After slow lunch (an effort to cool down ourselves from the burning heat outside), we rode the same bus back to Hanok Village complex and snapped more pictures.

Korean-style architecture

reminds me of alleys in Bali

While some people were sightseeing, I managed to queue for Jeonju's famous PNB Chocopie, as recommended by the people. 1 choco pie costs 1,600 and white choco pie is more expensive, 2,000 won each. I was clueless about the taste, choices or price so when I got to the first line, I just quickly chose 1 pack of 5 choco pies and 5 white choco pies for 18,000 won. There is no discount even if you buy the whole stock of the store.

the famous Jeonju Choco Pie from PNB

So the pie contains a trace of nuts and its filled with whip cream and strawberry (or another berry) jam. It was tasty and worth queuing!

What I like the most: quite long expiry date (9 days). Long enough to carry this back to my hometown, although I am sure I won't do that.

Texture of the white choco pie

After that, we went inside the palace that I couldn't remember the name. It costs 3000 won for adult. It was just a typical Korean palaces. What I love the most from the palace is the Royal Potrait Museum because it was really cool inside (literally, the aircon) and the exhibits were really cute. The exhibition halls are located in the first floor and B1. I couldn't enjoy the 1st floor hall as it was too packed and too hot but I totally love the space in the B1 floor as it was well-ventilated, bright and spacious.

Credit: Mas Ali

Credit: Mas Ali 

See, they're not just a boring figurines.

Done with the museum, we walked back to the bridge while eating various snack. I bought 500ml cheese yogurt from 임실앤치즈 for 5000 won and fell in love with it. My senior bought cheese satay (sounds weird, right?) from the same stall and was really satisfied. My friend bought himself Ojingo and kept talking on how delicious it was.

see the green scenery behind

We ended our walk by going back to the bridge and snapped (more) selfies before walking back to the bus departure point. Passengers started to fall asleep as soon as the bus left Jeonju. I guess everyone was drained due to the unexpected heat that day. We reached Gyeongbokgung area around 8.20 PM.

It was a truly memorable one day getaway to Jeonju, spent with dear friends and Indonesian students family in Korea. Worth my time and sweats (can't get over the heat) hahaha. I really appreciate the complimentary shuttle bus and I think such program is a very effective way to bring visitors to Jeonju. I even discussed it with my friend that Indonesia's provincial government should learn the concept and adopt it. I didn't get to see much in a day but I'd love to explore more of Jeonju with the free shuttle bus in the near future!