Our Life in Daejeon, Korea: Jeonju

Still trying to play catch up! The weekend after the Persimmon Festival, we decided to go to Jeonju, where there is a traditional folk village. We were looking most forward to the bibimbap, which Jeonju is well known for. Well, the food was worth it! As soon as Sam and I took a bite, we looked at each other and just grinned like cheshire cats. It was soooooo gooood.

It only took us about an hour to get to Jeonju. Aren't the toll gates pretty? We, of course, decided to eat first before going to the folk village...

Jeonju bibimbap. Along with the normal veggies, it had mook, marinated raw beef, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts and ginko nuts. Mmmm mmmmm.

All mixed together and ready to eat!

The kids really enjoyed their bulgoki, too!

A huge bowl of resin bibimbap commemorating when the restaurant made bibimbap for 1000 people at once. I'm sure you noticed that the ingredients are in the shape of the Korean peninsula. It really does look like a rabbit, doesn't it?

Upstairs, they had a little gallery displaying bibimbaps from the different regions in Korea. They also had these adorable figures depicting a traditional Korean kitchen and mealtime with a king.

In front of the restaurant

The folk village was a mixture of old and new. There are many homes that are hundreds of years old along with buildings that were new construction to encourage the tourism industry to the area. In the end, it's all about making a buck, sadly. But at least some history gets preserved along the way.

Pretty manhole cover

A catholic church built in the Byzantine style. Built by a French priest in the early 20th century to commemorate the spot where two Korean Christians became the first Korean Christian martyrs in 1781. Lindsay and I took a peek inside only to realize that there was a wedding going on, oops! That didn't stop dozens of others from stepping inside to get their glimpse, too.