10/13: Bibimbap and Ginseng Market with Juny

Fried Ginseng

 

Bibimbap Restaurant in Jeonju

 

Frying Ginseng

 

Ginseng Alcohol

 

Bibimbap

               After returning from an awesome time exploring the southern part of Korea, I only had two days of school before I got my last holiday/school day off before Christmas. I didn’t do much except lay around the house and “dingle-dingle” as the Koreans say which is to be a couch potato.

On Saturday I was supposed to go to a ginseng festival with my friend Abby and the Korean class that I attend sometimes but instead Juny invited me to have lunch with her family. I had only met her husband and son once or twice before but she asked if I wanted to go and of course I said yes. She said we would go to Chungju for lunch which is only about 20 minutes away but when she picked me up on Saturday morning she said it would take about an hour or a little longer to get there so I became really confused. It turns out she said Jeonju which to me sounded like Cheongju, the close town. The “ch” and “j” here are so similar. Either way I was fine with it. Every Wednesday at school is a special lunch which is usually bibimbap (basically Korean stir-fry) and I love it. Juny knows how much I love it, told her husband and he said we would have to go to Jeonju to get bibimbap as this is the area famous for bibimbap.

The ride to Jeonju was interesting as we wandered in and out of mountain ranges allowing me to see more of the country with Juny pointing out things along the way like statues, temples and cemeteries. She even made her husband stop at a rest-stop so she could show me the Korean rest stops which basically look very similar to the ones in the states. Even though we were going for lunch we all got little snacks so I got hotteoks which are basically cinnamon filled pancakes except the pancake is more breadlike. They got fishcakes and I think her son got chicken nuggets on a stick.

A little while later we made it to the restaurant which is one of the more famous ones in Jongju known for their bibimbap and it was delicious! There were different kinds but we got the one in a stone container which keeps the bibimbap warmer for longer and allows the raw egg they crack on it to cook. Plus there were a bunch of great sidedishes. What I love about being with Juny’s family is that it is very comfortable. I was having a hard time picking up the green bean jelly with my chopsticks so Juny told me to just use my hands or use the spoon I had. It felt great to be so comfortable.

After lunch we headed to Geumsan which is the ginseng capital of Korea. Ginseng is a root that looks very much like ginger and has a lot of medicinal purposes. I heard there was a ginseng festival going on and when I told Juny about it she assumed it was the one in Geumsan but I was talking about the one in Jongpyeon. No worries. There wasn’t a festival occurring in Geumsan but there was a traditional market that we walked around for a long time with Juny either explaining what everything was or asking what things were and translating it for me. It was great to walk around and learn what some things are. She had a friend who owned a medicinal ginseng stall and Juny bought me a huge back of ginseng candy and her friend gave me a small container of ginseng alcohol. Many of the shopkeepers there use ginseng to make alcohol and in the container carve the ginseng into beautiful designs. Her friend saw me marveling at them and therefore gave me that small batter. We also tried fried ginseng which was a little bitter but great to try.

Overall it was a fantastic day and it felt so nice to be part of a family. I miss home so much and I loved being a part of Juny’s family even if it was for just a day! Once again I am so lucky to have her.