Student Spotlight: Jeonju Through Coco's Eyes

It was an early start to our day. From the start of our day at the hotel till the end, we were accompanied by our tour guide Susan who would be showing us around Jeonju. We boarded the bullet train half asleep but full of excitement. Our first stop of the day was at Jeonju Cultural Center, where we all learned to play the drums.

This class was challenging but also really fun, our teacher stayed patient with us and we all felt very proud of ourselves once we got the hang of it. After we mastered the drums we moved on and learned traditional Korean mask dance or Talchum. Because we had limited time, we all learned to play the dragon, even though there were many characters involved in the play. This class was known to be the most popular, and I could tell why; the masks were pretty, the movements were fun and our teacher was very charming. All in all, we left Jeonju Cultural Center with a satisfied and more knowledgeable feeling.

After having spent hours beating the drums and holding up a heavy dragon body we were all super hungry. Thankfully our next stop was a lunch spot famous for their bibimbap, and it was definitely worth the hype. After our bellies were filled, we were allowed to split into groups and explore the small town. Me and a few of my friends decided we wanted to try on Hanboks and go to the old temple in them. We each got to pick out the design of our Hanboks, and some girls got their hair done. When we were all dressed, we walked down to the temple and took photos. This temple was not only a photo spot, but was known for a painting of the old emperor, which, of course we took a photo with. Sadly we had a train to catch and had to make our way back on the tour bus, which we had all to ourselves and had been using to get around Jeonju. Once we were back home, tired from our fun filled day, we headed straight to bed, ready for what tomorrow would bring. 안녕 (annyeong)!