Travelling Jeonju with “Running Man!” #Running Man #Black Pink #Jeonju Tour

The famous six crews of “Running Man,” the most popular Sunday television entertainment show, appeared in Jeonju to shoot the program at the famous attractions of the city. The two episodes shot in Jeonju were aired in last December. Also, the rookie girl band “Black Pink” joined the second episode of the show.

Starting from Deokjin Park, the “Running Man” crews cleared missions in the Hanok Village, Nambu Market, Chungnyeon Mall, Jeonju Traditional Culture Training Institute, and other attractions.

Let’s follow the footsteps of the “Running Man” crews to visit the popular spots of Jeonju!

 

Deokjin Park, the Resting Place with a Lake in the Heart of the City

“Running Man”’s Jeonju episode started in Deokjin Park. The first mission of the episode involved rowing a small boat in Deokjin Lake and collaboration of k-pop and pansori (traditional Korean long epic song).

 

Deokjin Park and the wide Deokjin Lake within the park are resting places for both locals and tourists alike. The park is especially famous for the grand spectacle of lotuses blooming on the lake from the end of June until mid-July. During the lotus blooming season, many people spend time picnicking at the lakeshore.

 

 

As the “Running Man” crews did, you can also ride a boat at Deokjin Lake. You may choose from renting the rowing boat, the duck boat with pedal row, or the motored duck boat. Two to four people can board each boat. The beautiful scene of sundown from the boat is unforgettable.

Deokjin Park is a resting place in the middle of the city, open 24 hours for everyone.

 

Jeonju Hanok Village, Satisfying Your Mouth and Eyes

After the mission in Deokjin Park, the “Running Man” crew travelled to Jeonju Hanok Village. Their mission here was a challenging one in that they had to carry out the mission without being discovered by people that they are the crews of the show.

The first mission was to buy mandoo (dumpling), a famous street food of the Hanok Village.

Kim Jong-guk disguised as a ki-saeng (singing, dancing, and poem-writing woman from the ancient times) to carry out the mission. However, he was eventually found out by Lee Kwang-soo. They both failed the mission, but at least the crews very much enjoyed the shrimp mandoo they bought.

 

The Hanok Village is famous for a variety of street food. On social networks, it is easy to find different ‘must eat lists’ when visiting Jeonju, such as the shrimp mandoo which appeared in “Running Man.” On such lists are: shrimp mandoo, fruit mochi (glutinous rice cake), grilled chicken skewers, deep-fried squid, sweet twister doughnut, and the like.

The second mission was to take a sneak selfie in front of Jeondong Cathedral!

Although this part of the mission was eventually edited out, let’s see what it’s like in the famous Jeondong Cathedral. Two of the crews, Haha and Song Ji-hyo, took selfies here.

Jeondong Cathedral is probably the most famous landmark building of Jeonju. Designated by the South Korean government as the Historical Site No. 288, this modern Western-style building was built in 1914, on the site of Catholic martyrdom. The Romanesque red-brick cathedral is the oldest and biggest building of the early modern era in the Southwestern region. Almost all visitors take selfies in Jeondong Cathedral, acknowledged as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Korea.

The third mission was to secretly draw a new-year’s fortune ball from one of the fortune caskets. It was Yoo Jae-seok and Ji Seok-jin’s turn to carry out the mission.

Ji Seok-jin forgot to remove his name tag on his back, so he was discovered as soon as he got out of the bus. Yoo Jae-seok drew the fortune ball, but he got lost on the way back to the bus and then was soon discovered by the locals and tourists. Although they failed the mission, this was a fun episode.

These fortune caskets are located next to Sori Culture Center (Sori Moonhwa-gwan) in the Hanok Village. The contents are based on traditional Korean zodiac fortune-telling, and many people were drawing the fortune ball from the caskets. There also were people taking photos of the caskets.

Apart from “Running Man,” many other Korean television shows visited here to draw fortune balls.

I wish you a great luck in 2017, and do try this when you visit Jeonju!

 

The Traditional Nambu Market and Chungnyeon (‘youth’) Mall

After completing missions in the Hanok Village, the “Running Man” crews moved to Chungnyeon (meaning ‘youth’ in Korean) Mall to bid for their name tags and money for their next missions.

Each crew had to wear unravelling knit that is different in size (S, M, L), and then busily ran around Nambu Market to buy anything whose initial consonant matches that of Nambu Market (ㄴㅂㅅㅈ) before all the yarn of the knit unravelled.

Right before the yarn completely unravelled, the locals at the market heartily helped the crews to find the things they needed.

 

Nambu Market in Jeonju is a very old traditional market. But the place is still frequented by the locals. Although traditional markets are in general less popular these days, locals still regularly visit Nambu Market to buy everyday commodities.

Inside Nambu Market, you can find the venues selling the famous Pi-soondae (blood sausage) and Kongnamul-gukbap (bean-sprouts hot pot with rice) which are dishes representing Jeonju. Also, the night market selling a variety of street food is held here every Friday and Saturday evening.

 

 

The second floor of Nambu Market is Chungnyeon Mall. The mall started in 2011 with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to revitalize traditional markets through culture. Currently, the mall is self-administered by young storeowners, as the name of the mall ‘Chungnyeon’ (‘youth’) indicates.

Chungnyeon Mall is comprised of about 30 stores that each boasts not only witty and creative items but also unique interiors. The success of Chungnyeon Mall is widely known as a model case for start-up business by young people.

 

The Traditional Beauty of Jeonju Hanok

The “Running Man” crews continued their mission in Hanok (Korean traditional house) guesthouse and Jeonju Traditional Culture Training Institute. In this episode, a rookie girl band “Black Pink” joined the crew to spice up the show.

The “Running Man” crews and “Black Pink” members played a variety of games in the outside and inside of the Jeonju Hanok.

 

Hanok is one thing that represents Korean traditional culture. Jeonju Hanok Village, where you can experience the traditional Korean everyday life, is a community of around 700 well-preserved Hanok buildings. There are also Hanok guesthouses in the Hanok Village. You can choose to stay in different kinds of Hanok, from very traditional ones to more modernized ones.

 

“Running Man” Tour of Jeonju  

The episodes of “Running Man” in Jeonju were enough to inspire more people to visit Jeonju! This is a place where you can wear Hanbok (Korean traditional costume) and wander around in the maze of Hanok as much as you want.

Do visit Jeonju, the city filled with things that will capture and satisfy all of your senses!