South korea: best food city
Mist swept mountains
Hiding from view.
Cloud covered sky
Sun hidden from you.
Winding through trees
Up and up we climb.
A pair of eyes squinting
Searching
Hoping to find.
The secrets that lay lost.
Memories rain washed away.
Quell your tears
And dry you eyes.
The mountain remains still
And so shall I.
The third leg of my journey brought me first to Jeonju, a city known for its history and its cuisine. It is known as the “best food city in Korea,” and that was enough reason for me to add it to my itinerary. So as to really get the full experience, I booked a stay in a traditional hanok, abutting the historic village. I originally planned to take a ferry from Jeju, but ultimately decided to fly instead, as the ferry system was too difficult for me to manage online in Korean. I flew from Jeju to Gwangju and then took two trains first to Iksan and then on to Jeonju. I then took a taxi to my hanok, or at least as close as he could get me. I only planned to spend two days in Jeonju, so I had to make the most of time. When I woke on the first day, it was to the steady drum of rain.
THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR ME WERE:
Jeonju sinabro-gil (known to me affectionately as the “Snail Trail”)
Jeonju, South Korea
“I donned my rain coat, my hiking boots, and even brought an umbrella and set out in the direction of Jeonju Hanok Village….A path by a stream always seems like a good walk to me. So I headed out….It was raining, but it was beautiful. I found a Buddhist temple along the way.…When I was no longer walking on the trail, it became less clear if I was going the right way. Up until this point, every so often I would see a trail marker with a snail on it….I walked through a muddy patch. I mentioned it was raining, right? My left shoe sunk up almost to the ankle. Bummer, now my shoe is gross. But I came to a paved road, trail. It was uphill, extremely uphill. My legs were doing all the work. I started to sweat and give my heart a workout. I stopped a couple of times and tried to load my location on the NAVER map. But it didn’t even know where I was. I contemplated going back the way I came, but that just seemed like a monumental failure. And definitely not adventurous. So I continued up and up and up, and I finally did see a snail again….All of a sudden I felt amazing. The fear, panic, and anxiety I felt in the past 20-30 minutes was gone. I was surrounded on all sides by mountains, hills, rocks, forests. I wound in and out, up and down, and through marveling at nature but also in my own strength. It may seem a small thing to some, but I did that. I overcame that. And I was proud. I then came to a spectacular view in the distance. Water up ahead, as if all these obstructions were just protecting beauty from view. The water also signaled an end, or at least a respite from the hike thus far. As I made my way down to the reservoir, I saw a road in the distance and felt much better about getting my map to work. It was time to head back in the direction of ‘home’ as I was cold, wet, and very hungry.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
My Top 3 Favorite Meals of the Trip:
1. “I got raw beef, spicy cold noodles, beer, and banchan. Also, some seaweed soup. The beef was very good, served with a raw egg yolk on top. The spicy noodle broth was delicious on its own. The spicy sauce was atop it. When I mixed it in, it got spicier. The noodles were chewy, the beer was nice. It was a great end to the day.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
Yukhoe
2. “Then I found a street market. There always is one, and I always seem to stumble across it by accident….I walked the market trying to decide what to have for lunch. When I first started to walk through, I saw a place that looked bustling and busy….I went in and sat down. I ordered pork stew with innards and blood sausage and a bottle of makgeolli.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
Sundaeguk
3. “I was determined to get one more meal in before I left Jeonju the next day. I wanted to try short rib patties. I’m not really sure why they sounded so exotic in my mind. It was just meat patties, but I was determined to try them. I ended up at a place I had photographed the day before walking around because the menu looked good. I ordered the short rib patty with rice cooked in a lotus leaf. They brought out 10 different banchan. The short rib patty came out in a cast iron pan with onions and a sweet soy sauce. It was placed on a small burner to sizzle away. The rice came perfectly bundled in the lotus leaf, and my beer came cold with a small glass. Drinking out of small glasses makes more sense if you ask me. That’s how you pinky drink beer. I carefully unwrapped the rice, revealing a mix of rices that gave it a light mauve color. Beans, seeds, and raisins were cooked into the top. I was in heaven with this meal. The short rib patty was food, but I would have been content with the rice and banchan. That’s how good they were.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
Short Rib Patties
The final destination of my Korean journey was Suwon, a city I chose not just for its proximity to Incheon for my return flight but also for the historic Hwaseong Fortress. I took a long and relaxing train ride from Jeonju to Suwon, and walking to and checking in to my hotel, I found a restaurant to have samgyetang.
THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR ME WERE:
Starfield Library in Suwon
“When I was in Seoul, I didn’t go to Starfield Library. It was one of the places that was on every must see list on Instagram. I found out that Suwon had their own smaller version, so I was determined to visit it. It was a bout a 45 minute walk and was a nice day. Starfield is a six floor mall. The library spanned 2-3 floors on one side. It was cool to see an actually library in a mall. Everything about the mall was extravagant, but this library was just to borrow not to buy. It’s an interesting concept. I wonder how many people go there just to check out a book. A lot, I think just go to take pictures, but I like to think that some people just came to read. They also had a spot to listen to vinyl records.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
I spent three weeks in a foreign country, traveling and wandering from city to city, talking very little to anyone. It wasn’t until I arrived at the airport for my return flight to the US that I realized how liberating it was to go through the world surrounded by people but not weighted down by their words. Would it have been easier for me if I spoke Korean? 100% But, I was also able to communicate and navigate without it. Sometimes it was awkward and uncomfortable on my end, but totally doable. And for me personally, the time spent not relying so heavily on words allowed me to experience a literary detox of sorts. Waiting in line to check-in to my America Airlines flight was like a punch to the gut after weeks of introspection. Returning home from a trip carries with it a tinge of sadness and a shift of perspective. I find the best way to deal with those emotions is to focus on the future. And luckily for me, I had another trip to plan.
WHAT I WAS WATCHING:
NETFLIX: Physical 100, Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure, Spirited Away, My Name is Loh Kiwan, The Tale of Princess Kaguya
WHAT I WAS READING:
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
“…a memoir I had started months prior and forgotten. It is about a Korean American woman, her relationship with her mother, and her mother’s cancerous death. It was emotional, but riveting, as most of their connections relate to food, cooking and eating.” - Journal Entry, 4.8.24
The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores by Diana Marcum
“…written by a California journalist about the Azores and the Portuguese immigrants/emigrants that go back and forth. This memoir was all over the place, as if each chapter was a rambling article that needed footnotes. It was still interesting, but by the end I was half reading to get through it. I am surprised she wrote a book, but I guess she must’ve been a good journalist to grab the offer.” -Journal Entry, 4.8.24
