So much of cultural highlight in a day.
Our day started with a customized breakfast for us the 3 LIMs. Thanks Kim for being so thoughtful. The eggs and bacons were good but it would be superb if we got to try local style breakfast :D
After the breakfast, we were on the bus heading to Maisan Provisional Park, the Horse Ears Mountain. This was an inspiring Zen park with multiple tapsa or pagoda. No doubt about the attractiveness of the physical appearance of the park but the myth which I just discovered while writing this was even more impressive. It was believed that the pagodas do not fall or sway even at bad weather, the temple was build by a monk with the help of tiger and if one put water into a bowl during the winter, the water freezes into a pole reaching for the sky.
Oh I also learnt some common religious practices in Korea. Never enter a temple using the main door if there are other options, no shoes in the temple (this was not strictly practice in all Buddhist Temple in Malaysia) and drinking the holy water. I wish to be able to join in a Temple Stay in Korean when I come for the 2nd time. I will surely make another visit to this park to see how it transforms between season.
Next was the savoring of my favourite Korean dish, the Bibimbap. I just loved the mixed rice in the stoneware. It has a strong aroma from the formation of thin rice crust at the bottom. The jelly made of the green bean was yummy to go with other vegetables too. It was a perfect meal for the day :D
In the afternoon, we got to craft center where we get accessed to the traditional paper fan making. Each of us were given a paper fan and some raw materials to decorate our own fan. I made a Korean Flag (*with the moon and earth interchanged) on 1 side and simple flower motive on another. It was an interesting session in a Hanok.
After the craft session, we were on foot round the Jeonju Hanok Village. As the name suggest, this small village has 800 traditional Korean house. All unified in the same wood frame and pillars with white wall and earthy tone roof tiles. We also spotted many stoneware used to made and store Kimchi right outside of the house. Kimchi is the must dish all year round for Koreans.
We made stop overs at the Folding Fan Museum, 韩方文化館 which showcase the traditional herbal and medicine, Gyeonggijeon Shrine (did't have time much time. Only manage to pass by the study place as well as the bamboo garden), Jeondong Catholic Church and the Nambu market.
For dinner we got to taste a simple yet tasty bean sprout soup with rice. I always dislike bean sprout due to it's rawly taste but this was nice. The soup was crystal clear and has got the natural sweetness of the bean sprout. The eggs made it thicker and gave the smooth texture while the seaweed and the fermented shrimp gave the saltiness to the soup.
After dinner, we went to the nearby shopping haven with Daniel and JihYun. I managed to get some facial products at Missha and Innisfree...so cheap. 2 other LIMs bought more than me :D Facial products are the best souvenir one can get from Korea. We enjoyed shopping in Korea.
my travel companions...enjoy shopping here...look at my bags
For more photos,please refer to FB album
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