Today instead of classes we took a fieldtrip to the other side of Jeonju. We first went to Keumsan Temple which is a very old Buddhist temple. We were able to walk up the hill past campsites and street vendors to the temple and see the monks chanting with their drums and some of the local people in worshiping. There were many of the old pagoda style buildings housing different relics and being used to worship in. The buildings were gorgeous with intricately carved woodwork and brightly colored designs painted on them. It was very peaceful on the mountaintop with only the sounds of the monks' drums and the cicadas up in the trees. I can't wait to visit some more of these kinds of temples.

After the temple, we got back on the bus and drove to Hanok Village- a historic village that shows the older styles of architecture, has shops and museums that feature folk art, traditional games and a number of historical landmarks. The entire EPIK group met up for lunch at the Jeonju Hyanggyo- an over 500 year old school for Confucian noblemen and scholars that still holds Confucian Sunday school in one of its buildings. They made for us an enormous bathtub sized bowl of Bibimbap- rice and vegetables with chili paste, a national dish of Korea that this province is known for- that fed the 600 of us there from that one bowl. It was pretty amazing, but with all the people trying to get close enough to watch I'm hoping that I'll get another chance to see how its made. After lunch we were able to wander through the village and see a number of historic sites before joining back together to make fans using Hanji, the decorative paper that Korea is known for. A wonderful day, and it was nice to get outside the University and see a little more of what Korea is really like. I can't wait now to get to my village, get settled, and really get a chance to take part in Korean life. :D