CIEE Trip to Jeonju-si: Fully Free and Immersive Experience

In case you didn't know, the CIEE program not only has an official building at Yonsei University, gives scholarships based on merit and need, but also provides free trips and meals when studying abroad. This was something I never thought would be an ongoing theme after orientation was over. You would think after all the money they spent on a buffet for Orientation that they would run out of money or resources. However, CIEE proved me wrong in how powerful their network and influence is in South Korea. 

The trip to Jeonju-si is hosted by a tour company which is partnered up with CIEE and hosts multiple trips. The only problem being that it is limited to the first 20 people who sign up. Thus, it is a very competitive tour to get into. The process is fairly simple: make an account online, submit a picture of your passport for lodging purposes along with your Yonsei ID. Once you register you simply wait for the host of the tour to confirm your reservation and add you to a Kakao group chat. Within this chat you will realize that it is not only CIEE students who are competing for this tour but also people who simply want to make new friends, are visiting from neighboring Asian countries such as Japan and China and working adults who want to blow off some steam. 

Disregarding the very competitive selection process, we can now speak more about the trip itself and how amazing it was. First off, everyone within the group is incredibly friendly and most people do speak English as the host directs the tour in English and Korean. You start your day by heading to Jjonggak stations number 5 exit at around 8:50. Departure time was at about 9:20 and the ride there lasted until about 11:30 or 11:50. The host was very surprised as we made it there earlier than expected and told us we had just gotten blessed. Immediately after arrival we have lunch which is fully paid for. The meal, Jeonju's famous Bibimbap. The restaurant was incredibly nice and the food was almost immediately served. The food was already reserved for us and we ate swiftly. 

After our meal we then moved on towards our afternoon activities which started off with the lion dance. Our host was very excited about this and most of us did not know what to expect. However, upon arrival, the host was incredibly friendly but only spoke Korean. Thus, making it a bit harder for us English speakers. Regardless, the event was incredibly engaging and fun as everyone got a turn to go in front of the class and rehearse and perform the dance. After the dance our host took us to sightsee at Jeonju Hanok village which was incredibly beautiful. Here my friend from CIEE and I made some really good friends Bernard and Gary. Bernard being from the Philippines while Gary was from China and now worked in Korea, both spoke fluent Korean. It was a bit difficult to communicate with Gary, however, we always made sure to include him and had an amazing time together despite our language barriers. We still keep in touch to this day and hope to go to Lotte World together as a group. 

After these amazing activities we go to dinner and end our first day by going to the hotel. Once again, everything was fully paid for and check-in was incredibly easy. This is why they ask for your passport. Once you arrive, no one needs to do anything. Our host simply gave everyone our assigned room number and key and gave us ultimate freedom by 8 pm. 

The following day is when we have breakfast at the hotel and do a one hour drive to Mount Naejangsan. While arriving at Mount Naejangsan there was an immense amount of mist which made the view something spectacular to witness. Upon arrival, we all hiked up the Mountain for 3 hours and had to take a  gondola lift which takes three minutes to go upwards. If you are scared of heights, this is not for you. Once you reach the top of the mountain you go even further up to see a spectacular view at one of the highest points on the mountain. We were given about 15 minutes to take pictures and relax. However, once you go back down you are given about 20-30 minutes to go see a temple which my friends and I did not see since we were too busy playing Jenga in the mini museum. After these few minutes you are given the last lunch and then go back home.

Ultimately, the trip was amazing and would definitely attend again if given the opportunity to do so. CIEE is one of the best programs to attend when going abroad as their network and resources they have available are incredibly well rounded, available in an excess amount all while the staff is incredibly happy to be here and help anyone at any time. Thus, encouraging you to respond to your emails as soon as possible so you can be one of those first twenty people. 

Entire Gonda Lift Experience on my TikTok found here. A video of the misty mountain can be found here.