June 28, 2017 - Day #26 Yongsan to Jeonju

June 28, 2017

Morning came too early!  I'm starting to feel the wear and tear of traveling. I got ready slower this morning and Russell made sure Matty was up as well. We all made it in time for our meeting time in the lobby at 7:15am. Instead of navigating the subway during rush hour, we all took taxis to Yongsan Station to catch an 8:40am KTX train to Jeonju. We all found something to eat before boarding the train for the 1 ½ hour journey. 







In Jeonju we took a short 20 mins taxi rides to Jeonju Hanok Village. The village is famous among Koreans and tourists because of its traditional buildings that strongly contrast with the modern city around it.  Most of the streets are still cobblestones. Just like Bukchon, a lot of tourists rent the traditional Korean clothings to walk around the small quaint village. Matty immediately spotted scotter rentals and we thought it would be a fun way to explore the village. Russell and I took all the youngsters with us to rent scooters. Russell was able to negotiate 15,000 for 1 ½ hours for each scooter. Only 20 years and older were allowed to drive one so that makes Nicole 20ish. We practiced driving them in the plaza across the street before we were allowed loose on the streets. When we were confident in our skills, it was fun going full throttle weaving through cars and pedestrians. Nicole wasn't feeling too comfortable and Carter took over as a driver. Even though Nicole was a passenger, she declared today the highlight of her trip. 1 ½ hours went by too quickly for us crazy Americans as we returned our scooters high on adrenaline. It was already 1pm when we decided on looking for a place for lunch. Bim Bim Bop(BBB) originated from Jeonju so it was fitting to indulge in their local cuisine. After a TripAdvisor search we decided on Hanguk Jip. Between the seven of us, we shared 2 stone BBB, a regular BBB, and a bulgogi.  It was good but was missing eggs and the usual flavor. We found out later that egg was a variation of the traditional. 










Since we still had a couple of hours to kill until the meeting time, we stayed cool in a dessert cafe and shared a few dishes.  We had so much fun earlier on the scooters, we went back to to rent a couple more until it was time to leave.  This time, Matty was allowed to drive it and he had a blast! 







Half of the group had Korean BBQ for dinner at the same place next to the hotel.  Afterwards, Emilie, Nicole, and I had fun in the hotel room applying the latest craze - sheet masks!




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