Travel and Jeonju

So I finally got a chance to go back and visit some people from my last city, Jeonju. It’s a little under three hours south of Suwon, but the trip down took forever. I caught a bus, thinking I’d read up on a textbook. Not so much. I fell asleep about 5 pages in and woke up a few hours later. We were still in Gyeonggi because of terrible traffic.  I got a bit more reading done, but it took five hours for what should have been a 2:45 trip.

Before I moved to Suwon, when I came up to look for a place to live, the professor who was helping me find a place told me a few things about transport in and around Suwon and the Seoul Metro (basically all of Gyeonggi province). I thought he was kidding with what he was saying. Nope. 100% true. All of it.

Two-way street. No Parking. *Really*

 First: Don’t drive. 

Traffic is nuts. Parking is nuts. On a bad weekend, you could probably get to where you’re going by taking a public bus faster than trying to drive, just because of the traffic (and designated bus lanes).

Second: Rush hour is very real

There’s not really a “rush hour” in Jeonju. You might wait an extra 10~15 minutes because there are a few more people, but that’s nothing compared to here. When people are going to and coming from work, expect to see traffic at a standstill (which makes the public transportation even more enticing...).

Third: Public transportation is a wonderful thing.

T-Money. Transport Card that can be used basically anywhere

South Korea has a great public transportation system, and the Gyeonggi province is particularly well designed. There are city buses, intercity buses, campus shuttles, a subway system, cross-country buses, a train system and taxis. All of them (except for taxis) can be tracked to the minute with any

number of applications on a smart phone. Plus you can transfer between the buses and the subways. You can even reserve tickets for buses and trains with your phone. With that in mind, driving isn’t really necessary.

Fourth: If you’re leaving town, buy tickets early.

For destinations like Seoul, it is pretty much impossible NOT to find a bus up or back. But for other places, like Jeonju, tickets are gone relatively quickly. I looked online on Saturday morning and there were 25 seats left. I got to the bus station to buy my ticket and purchased the LAST one, even though there was about an hour or so left before departure. I’d never seen that happen in Jeonju. Coming back is the same thing. I made the mistake of not checking bus times before church on Sunday. Oops. 4:30 service, last bus leaves at 6:10. Got to the bus depot and all the tickets were sold out. So I went to the train station. I was able to get a seat, but only for half of the ride. After West Daejeon (about 1.5 hours into the 3 hour train ride), I had standing room only.  So I had to go to the snack car (they’ve got a snack bar and a little karaoke room and vending machines) and find a place to sit on the floor so I wasn’t standing for the last 90+ minutes.

 Once I got to Jeonju, all was fine and good. It was nice to see friends and people I hadn’t seen for a while. I even got to go to my favorite bar and try a new drink (TNT). Of course I had a Faust, my poison of choice. That's just how I roll. I absolutely refuse to order fruity drinks, anything with a little umbrella or ANYTHING ending in –tini.We played darts and of course I ate tons of Korean food.

Jeonju is known for its traditional Korean food. Having lived there for about five years, I’m used to the flavors of the place. Kimchi changes based on the regional ingredients.  It wouldn't be a proper visit without having some kalguksu [칼국수] from Veteran [베테랑]. The restaurant only has 5 items on the menu and there's a line around the corner all day long, so you know they must be good. And, best for last, Magkeolli [막걸리] is an art form in Jeonju. Order a pot of the stuff and you get more side dishes than can fit on the table.

Kalguksu  is a soup made of noodles and clams

 <------ Veteran  Kalguksu

    Typical Kalguksu ------>

Magkeolli is an alcohol made of rice and wheat

<------ Typical Magkeolli Set

Jeonju Magkeolli Set ------>

Jeonju is quite different from Suwon. It was nice to go back and be around familiar places and people for a bit. Ah well. The weekend is over, time to get back to school.