Travel Hacks

Day 2: The best things in life are free! Experiencing the beauty of Jeonju..

[TRIP last May 3, 2011As I've mentioned from my previous entry, the JIFF team definitely made our stay in Jeonju a relaxing one. Every morning, there will be print-outs of reminders and event invitations for Kuya that were slipped into our hotel door. They were always very organized and cheery. Apart from that, the JIFF team also ensured that we always had our very own JIFF Ziggy (representative) to show us around the festival.

Anyway, we started our first official morning in Jeonju by availing of our complimentary buffet breakfast at Core Hotel's Restaurant (I forgot the name though) -- while topped with a nice view of the city. It was a few floors up from our 7th floor room, so we were able to get there in time. The buffet typically ends around 8am, so we made sure to arrive before then.


The buffet that they served for the hotel guests were quite hefty. They also served some mean sausages and KIMCHI! *love it* They also had a lot of Yakult bottles on the table, so that definitely made my day. Anyway, there were pretty much a lot of good food choices so the three of us always made sure to come back for a second serving. Here's what our plates looked like on our first attempt... ;)


We headed out an hour after breakfast. We were then fetched by our JIFF Ziggy (who's name I forgot again :[..) at the hotel lobby. Our Ziggy was super nice, and she was doing well with her English. 

She was able to show us around the Cinema Street, and still made time to accompany us to the Bank so that we could exchange some of our USD. We basically didn't spend much on this trip since JIFF paid for our accommodation and bus tickets. We only had to pay for our plane tickets, and of course our food outside the hotel.


Ok, so on to the festival! Kuya's full-length film, Third World Happy, was scheduled to show on this particular day. But it was set to be shown later that day so we still had some time to check out the booths and exhibits outside the area. This was also the time when the three of us met KIDLAT TAHIMIK. The interesting thing about Kidlat being there was that he's a Filipino Igorot. He's also filmmaker who has done a lot of great films and documentaries.

As an artist, Kidlat also creates very eclectic yet amazing artworks. Several of his works were flew in to Korea, where an exhibit was arranged solely for him. He was invited at the festival for an honorable recognition in the film industry. We were all honored to have had the chance to meet him in person.


When it was already time for Kuya to go into the movie house, Choy and I decided to roam the area on our own. We were needed to be back at the cinema for Kuya's Q&A in 2 hours, so my brother and I had enough time to do some window shopping. Frankly speaking, there weren't much merchandise that were purchasable that we couldn't buy back in Manila. But there were a few good stuff but were just too pricey for our budget. So when we got tired from walking, we stopped by this very cool coffee shop near the movie house. The caramel macchiato that I ordered at the BROWN CITY coffee shop had a resemblance with Starbucks, so that gave me a familiar and happy feeling. :) The cute thing though is Jeonju only had one Starbucks shop in the entire city, while there were plenty just in Manila alone!


After coffee, Choy and I walked back to the movie house. We got in and listened to all the interesting questions from the audience, and was able to witness a lot of great feedbacks from the guests. Third World Happy was welcomed with a lot of great queries. Kuya was also asked with a lot of interesting questions like how the story was conceptualized, was it based from his own life, and was 'Dexter' Wesley's son from Aylynn... These are just some of the things that Kuya answered wholeheartedly. But there was one Korean girl who stood out. She went up to speak on the mic just to let Kuya know that she was very much like the main character of the story. She too was struggling to fulfill her dreams, and was finally on her way there. It was truly inspiring, and we were all so touched with her story. She was already set to leave Jeonju that weekend to study in the US.


After the Q&A and autograph signing, our JIFF Ziggy showed us around a little bit more before going our separate ways. And since we found ourselves hungry afterwards, we scouted for the nearest fast food chain. Lo and behold, we found KFC!


Were were also set to meet Rachel later that the evening, so we decided to do some window shopping again before heading back to the hotel. I was able to buy shirts for 12000 WON each (I couldn't help but convert won into pesos!), and was able to get a photo with this funny-looking Korean guy, who actually wanted to take a photo with me..hahahaha!


We also took more photos by the famous JIFF spots on our way back to CORE hotel.


We also took a short nappy-nap before leaving the hotel for another engagement. By the way, the temperature that night was super cold. 


My niece Rachel took us to where College Street was, which was a little far from where we came from. She also brought us to this really nice restaurant that had a little frying and tossing going on. The place is called GOSOO DAKGALBI. Their specialty was duck, mixed in with sliced cabbages, scallions, onions, penne pasta, cheese, rice cake, chili pepper paste and other garnishes. 


After dinner, we walked towards this ART Gallery Bar (we were the only ones in there at the time) where the three of them grabbed some beers.


Our jam-packed day ended with a lot of fun, great stories and laughter. Even through that very night, we were already looking forward to what the next day would bring us. 

Explore & Be Free!
Mai

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38 comments

  1. I think I know why you keep on forgetting the names of places and people... they're hard to pronounce (or even spell). Hehehe! I hope I watch Thrid World Happy one of these days.

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  2. Ikaw na tlaga Mai ang Budgetbyahera jejeje:) hindi ba mahirap mag apply ng Korean Visa? I love reading ur post and looking @ your kulet photos:)

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  3. Wow! You got a nice trip there. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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  4. Ayeee! It was a heartfelt narration. Being with those cool peepz and meeting those generous and kind people (at may nanglibre pa) is such a great experience. Tapos ayun oh, si Kidlat, Idol! Super gusto ko pumunta sa Korea, hindi lang para mag-tour kundi makakita ng Korean celebrity. Hehehe. Ako na ang addict sa Korean Movie. Hehe.

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  5. nice adventure... I didn't know Kidlat Tahimik was already there... Last time I've seen him was way back then in our hometown Baguio...

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  6. Third World Happy seems to be an interesting movie and it seems that you were able to squeeze in some time to tour the place.

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  7. seriously? they call their tour guides ziggy? hihi.. cute!
    Finding food familiar to our taste buds will always be a relief when in a foreign land. Good thing you found KFC! :)

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  8. I love this post Ate Mai!
    Being a mass com grad myself with lil background on film making.
    THis festival would have been like a carnival for me.
    Meeting Kidlat tops it all. :)

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  9. Nice post, as usual I enjoyed reading it, the Korean guy looks like a girl probably because of the dimples and long hair.

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  10. Looks like everyone had a great time! Traveling is always a nice experience when you do it with friends and family.

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  11. Looks like a fun trip! did you get to try a lot of different restos?

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  12. i love the art display in the gallery ... how i wish i could visit the place as well. i will surely enjoy the trip there ,.,,, thanks for sharing

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  13. Hahaha.. well, that's partially true! But believe it or not, most of the Ziggy's that we were able to hang out with had English names already. :) As for Third World Happy.. I really hope Cinema One releases it DVD soon. :)

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  14. Hello Jeffrey! :) Thank you.. hehe! Actually, madali lang mag-Apply. Walang application fee ang mga Pilipinong aplikante. Kailangan lang complete sa requirements. IF interested kang mag-Korea sometime, here's a link to my Korean Visa Application: http://www.budgetbiyahera.com/2012/04/how-to-apply-for-korean-visa-here-in.html

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  15. Onga eh! Sa lahat pa ng lugar, sa Korea ko pa makikilala ng personal si Kidlat Tahimik. Astig siya, promise! Galing pa.. :) Lam mo ba, may work ako ngayon -- revising dubbing scripts. Tapos ang latest script ko is yung tagalog version ng Dong Hae. Do you watch it? :)

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  16. Oh, he was just there as a guest. :) The film festival honored his work by gracing him his own exhibit. :)

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  17. Oh yes! Best Indie Film to date (yes, I'm biased) hehehe!

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  18. Actually, the Jeonju International Film Festival call's their volunteers/representatives ZIGGY'S. :) They're not necessarily tour guides. :) And yes, thank God we found a nearby KFC. :)

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  19. Hey Francis! SO Ate Mai talaga? Hehehe! Anyhow, I'm sure na if you were there, you would've loved the festival. The tickets were actually being given for free (first come first served nga lang), kaya super sulit manood. :)

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  20. Hahaha.. he was actually a nice guy! I really didn't plan on having a photo with him (nahiya naman ako) but after buying a shirt from him, he pulled my arm and did these hand signals.. mag-paPicture raw kami! Hahaha.. amusing lang. :)

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  21. Hey Cai! We actually did.. we tried to eat at several authentic Korean restaurants every night. :) If you're interested in checking out my korean food trips.. do check out my food blog: sinigangjunkie.blogspot.com :)

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  22. Oh, I'm sure you will. We really did have loads of fun in Jeonju. :)

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  23. Another fun trip of yours! Nag-enjoy ka talaga :)

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  24. Looks like you've enjoyed the trip so much since its free. :D

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  25. Well, not entirely free. :) My brother and I had to pay for our airfare. :)

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  26. How I wish I will be able to participate in activities such as this one . . . . maybe some day =)

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  27. Yes, maybe someday? :) I was just really lucky that my filmmaker kuya tagged us along. :)

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  28. we have so much talents as filipinos... anywhere in the world, there are always filipino shining... kudos to k. kidlat tahimik... let us support our artists by giving them also due recognition. Yahweh bless.

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  29. that is indeed a great experience!! i love kimchi and yakult too! xx

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  30. hahaha!!!
    the korean guy is really funny-looking
    and look at those bangs... TARAY!
    is he/she a GUY or a GAY?? LOL!!

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  31. Very interesting artworks. Great to see that you enjoyed your trip there. I wonder how far this is from Busan?

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  32. I wish to travel Korea someday, even before KPOP and Koreanovela arrived the Philippines. :)

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  33. Oh, I loved Jeonju.. what more when I visit the rest of South Korea.. oh you will surely love it there! :)

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  34. I've seen your other posts about Korea, and the food looks good and the city scape looks fantastic.

    -Wanderer Juan

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