Ella Young

I'm walking through a train-themed park on the way home from a long day at school. The sun is setting gently, casting a gold light on the surrounding area. I'm tired but happy. In the distance, a mother is carrying her child down the walking path. The cherry blossoms have long since had their day and a new, red flower ("Mugunghwa." My co-teacher tells me when I ask the name.) is blooming in the park. A sweet floral scent fills the air. I look up and the mother spots me and starts waving her hand in the air. She runs towards me carrying her toddler on her hip. As she gets nearer, I realize it's my co-teacher. She grins as she approaches.

"Come get food with me."
There is a Korean saying that "There is so much food that the legs of the table may collapse." This meal is the first time I experience this saying literally. My co-teacher yells our order into the kitchen and sits us down at near the back. The restaurant is a simple room with dining tables on each side. Immediately, an older woman appears with a tray as big as a hula hoop. It is loaded with side dish upon side dish, otherwise known as banchan. On this wondrously large tray, there are: raw marinated crabs in soy sauce; full prawns with black eyes and long white legs; glass noodles and stir-fried veggies; a fermented soybean stew which tastes like a warm hug; and obviously there is kimchi.



My mouth drops at the number of bowls piling up around us. My co-teacher is nonplussed And this isn't even the main dish. It arrives after five minutes -it's barbecued cutlass fish or galchi in Korean. It is fried to golden brown perfection and is placed on our table still sizzling.

It is the best meal I have ever eaten in my life.
I tell this story because it sums up Jeollanam-do perfectly. The stunning nature, the kindness of its people, and of course its wonderful food. In fact, the very first thing I was told about Jeonnam was an offhand statement that the food was "pretty good". After living here for 4 months I can confirm that "pretty good" is an understatement.The food is different. It is full of pride.

A pride that is infectious.
I took a trip to Jeonju which is in the Southern Jeolla province. While I was there I visited a restaurant that served Korean pancakes, which are called 'Jeon'. They are served in little baskets and come out still piping hot. Fried, buttery, and crisped to perfection.

While paying up, I was asked where I lived. I told the older lady that I lived near Gwangju in Jeollanam-do. Her face immediately lit up. "Ah! Friends! Friends!" She exclaimed. "Jeolla-nam, Jeolla-buk, friends!" It's funny how something as small (or as large?) as the place you live can invoke such kinship from a complete stranger. I am forever grateful for the fact I was placed in a rural town in Jeollanam-do. I have traveled to smaller towns and cities that I never would have had the opportunity or the knowledge to see.

If I were to get down to the meat of what I am trying to say,it's that I want to put an emphasis on the incredible food you can get in Jeonnam. But, not for the taste of it, delicious though it may be, but for everything extra that comes with it. I urge everyone to pop down to their local restaurant and see what they can uncover in the banchan.
I'm willing to bet it's more than just sesame oil.