It was my very first trip in Korea and I had a great time. We visited many places in Naju, I saw many unforgettable things, I ate a traditional soup at a restaurant that was over 100 years old, I sampled the best tea I've ever had at a Confucian Tea Ceremony, I heard a girl sing a excerpt from a traditional Korean folk song, I saw an ancient king's residence, and I saw where another ancient king met his queen.
I want to make a scrapbook of my trip to remember every detail, but I'll highlight some details of each place I visited on the tour here.
We met at the GIC on Saturday morning about 9:45am and left on our 45 minute bus ride to Naju around 10am. (It was a noreabong bus, but we were all so tired that we just talked amongst ourselves.)
On the way into Naju, we saw many pear tree orchards and a lot of farm land. At one point, we could look in any direction we wanted and see something different - pear trees, farms, apartment buildings, restaurants, 7/11's - something for everyone.
Our first stop in Naju was one of the 2 remaining entrypoints to the city. There were four at one time, North, South, East and West. I believe we stopped at the South entry point.
After that, we took the bus to an area of town where we saw the ancient king's residence, his servant's quarters and work place (such as the kitchen), and a to highlight the ancient times.
We first saw the servant's quarters and workplace. This was where the king's servants (every ancient king who lived, here - not just one king in particular) lived, made the royal meals, and did their required day-to-day activities, such as laundry.
After leaving the servant's quarters, we walked over to the museum. The building the museum was in was at one time used as City Hall. When City Hall was moved, they turned it into a museum to highlight the ancient times in Naju. The two things I thought were the most interesting in the museum were the miniature remake of the King's Procession, and the miniature layout of ancient Naju.
We left the museum and went to the king's residence. It was very cool to be walking where the king once walked, and to see the grounds of where the king once lived. However, we were not allowed to go inside of the residence, and the doors were closed so we could not see in, either.
After seeing the king's residence, we walked across the street to a restaurant that was over 100 years old and only serves traditional beef bone soup and banchan (remember, banchan means side dishes) such as kimchi.
Beef bone soup is a traditional dish because it was cheap and easy to make. Traditionally, the king would get first pick of the cow meat and the townspeople would get whatever was left over. Of the townspeople, the higher class would get their choice of meat, followed by the middle class, and finally the servants. To make the soup, you boil the beef bone with whatever meat is left on it, creating a broth. Add rice, vegetables, and some egg and you've got Beef Bone Soup. However, in more recent times, actual slices of beef have been added to make the soup more appealing.
Following lunch, we took a walk over to the Confucian Academy. On the way, we walked by the home of one of the tour guides. This was significant because the type of home he is renting is a clay dome house, much like something you would see the Smurfs or Super Mario living in. It was very surreal. I have never seen anything like it in real life.
We eventually ended up at the Confucian Academy, which is no longer in use. The main school hall was at the far end of the grounds and was flanked on either side by the dormitories, creating a U-shape. On the other end of the grounds was a gate to the king's residence when he would stay on site.
This Confucian Academy is one of the first Confucian Academies in that time period. Confucianism was trying to make a spot in Korea, and amongst all of the temples and schools, this is the most famous.
We didn't stay very long there, and when we left, we went to see a Confucian Tea Ceremony. This was the best part of the tour. We got to meet the man who handmakes all of his tea. The tea trees grow on the mountain behind his house (which also houses his tea making workshop and the tea room). The tea trees grow under larger trees which act as protectors to the tea trees. He picks the tea leaves every morning and brings them back to his house. He washes the leaves 9 times, dries them, and then roasts the leaves 9 times. (Nine is a sacred number. Do you know why?) The tea we had that day was from tea leaves that he picked that morning.
After we saw him tossing the roasted tea leaves, we went into the tea room and sat down on the floor (after removing our shoes, of course). We were then each poured a cup of green honeysuckle tea. (See below.)
That was the best tea I had ever tasted in my entire life.
After that, he gave us some black tea (which is green tea 'gone bad', or with more oxidization). While we were enjoying that, a musician came out and played a few songs for us. One song was played using a wooden flute, one was done playing a tea leaf (yes, a tea leaf), and the third song was him playing the drums while a girl from the tour sang a small piece of an ancient folksong.
**This concludes part 1 of Naju Tour.**
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