Uslung Flea Market in Jinju (어슬렁마켓)

Uslung Market is a flea market held every second and fourth Saturday. As the name Uslung(어슬렁) implies, which means to stroll around, the flea market is a good place to lay back and take a walk on a Saturday afternoon, drinking a cup of coffee at a cafe nearby.

• When: Every 2nd and 4th Saturday (1-6PM)
               (The time is flexible each season)
• Where: Jinju Garosu-gil (in front of Jinju Educational Office)
• https://www.facebook.com/jinju.uslung


P.S. If you want to be a seller for yourself, you have to sign up in advance through e-mail. (jinju_uslung@naver.com)

[Source]

Pic.1,2,5 http://blog.naver.com/japan9024/220343890257

Pic. 3,4,6 https://www.facebook.com/jinju.uslung

Language Exchanges in Jinju (진주 언어교환)

Two language exchange meetings take place every Friday and Sunday, respectively. If you're interested in learning Korean or meeting local people, these meetings are open to everyone.

■ Language Connection Jinju

• Exchange Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese 

• When: Every Friday 7-9PM

• Where: Real Coffee (GNU front gate)

• http://www.facebook.com/languageconnectionjinju

■ Language Exchange Table

• Exchange Korean & English

• When: Every Sunday 7-9PM
• Where: Marley Coffee (GNU back gate)

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/JinjuLET

Guest Houses in Jinju (진주 게스트하우스)

Unfortunately, in regards to accommodation in Jinju, few options are available. Dong Bang Hotel (동방호텔) is the only luxury hotel which is located near the bus terminal and Jinju Fortress. It has 120 rooms including river view rooms. 

Another option is "love" motels. They are easily found throughout the city, but finding a decent one is not that easy. The prices are pretty cheap -- ￦30,000 ~ ￦60,000. But it usually goes up to over ￦100,000 during the lantern festival. I guess they are not a bad option for someone "familiar" with Korea.

However, for budget travelers, these may not be a good option either. Fortunately, a couple of "guest houses" opened in Jinju a while ago. In fact, guest houses are a new business in Korea, so they are not as well-established as other countries yet (especially in Jinju). But the new guest houses here are attracting people with special spirit and friendliness.

1. Mungcle (뭉클)

Mungcle is like an art gallery from the entrance. 

In fact, the guest house was built by an artist, and there's actually an art gallery in the one of the two houses. So staying there will be a special experience for everyone. (Maybe few have slept at an art gallery.)

There are dormitory rooms (6 beds/8 beds), single and double bedrooms, and an ondol (floor heating) room. The prices range from ￦20,000 to ￦55,000, which is including breakfast and basic toiletries.

You can find further information on pricing and booking stuff at the site below.
>>Details


For someone who wants to experience Korean ondol system, Mungcle provides an artistic ondol room as well. Especially in cold winter, sleeping on the warm floor will help you literally melt your frozen body.

[Source]

Pic.1 http://m.blog.daum.net/leeye82/3300
Pic.2 http://blog.daum.net/moum-ganesh/5058346
Pic.3 http://www.idomin.com/?mod=news&act=articleView&idxno=463280


2. Jinju Guest House (진주 게스트하우스)

Optimal location and clean and friendly guesthouse.

The newly opened guest house is situated in the optimal location for Jinju sightseeing. It is within walking distance from the intercity bus terminal, Jinju Fortress and the downtown area.

There are 17 rooms including dormitory rooms (4 beds/6 beds), double bedrooms, and different sizes of ondol rooms.

The prices range from ￦20,000 to ￦59,000.

You can find further information on pricing and booking stuff >> here or you can book a room at Agoda.



It opened around the last year's festival, so everything is still new and clean. Besides, rest assured that in each dormitory room are private lockers. This is actually what I think is good about the guest house. When I traveled abroad, I usually stayed at backpackers which didn't have a lockers in the room. This was kind of annoying because I always had to carry valuable stuff with me.

This picture seems to have been taken around last Christmas. I'm afraid that I've only passed by it and haven't had a chance to visit there. But this picture actually makes me want to visit. I guess spending a special day here with your friends or lovers will be a great experience.




[Source]
Pic.1,2,3,4 http://blog.naver.com/q0877

Jinju naengmyeon(cold noodles) (진주 냉면)

Jinju is well-known for its naengmyeon(cold noodles in chilled broth). People say Jinju naengmyeon is one of the three most famous naengmyeons in Korea along with Pyeongyang and Hamheung naengmyeon. Come to think of it, it is no wonder that cold noodles has become so popular in this hot region (of course in summer).

Jinju naengmyeon is kind of unique in that sliced yukjeon(Korean-style beef pancake) is topped with other common toppings such as sliced cucumber, pear and pickled radish.

There's a very famous naengmyeon place called Hayeonok(하연옥), but I don't recommend that place. I used to go there often, but after it was moved to a bigger place and had a few chains, I felt the taste was not the same as before. More importantly, after its appearances on TV, too many people come to check it out. I guess Jinjuities don't go there any more. When I took my friend there a few weeks ago, we had to wait for about 50 minutes, and the naengmyeon we got was not cold at all. It was just a disappointment. However, if you are so-called a gourmet, who enjoys visiting famous restaurants(맛집), the broth is worth the long waiting because seafood is included unlike other cold noodles.

Then, where's my recommendation? I recommend you Sariwon Seollongtang Naengmyeon (사리원설렁탕냉면) in the downtown area.

Its mul-naengmyeon is really great. The chewy noodles, cold and properly sour broth and harmonious toppings were just perfect.

I ordered tteokalbi as well, and it really went well with cold noodles.  

I personally prefer mul-naengmyeon (soup one) to bibim-naengmyeon (red dry one). However, this place serves not too spicy but really good bibim one. So if you're not much a fan of spicy foods like me but want to try bibim, don't worry. It won't kill you.

※Jinju's Representative Foods List

1. Jinju naengmyeon (cold noodles)
2. Jinju bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables)
3. grilled eel
4. steamed buns with red bean paste filling (at Subok Bbangjip 수복 빵집)

Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival (진주 남강 유등 축제)

Every October Jinju turns into a city of light since its biggest festival takes place along the Namgang(Riv). During the festival, tens of thousand lanterns are embroidered on the river flowing across the center of the city and around the Jinju Fortress. They are all different shapes, and particularly kids can't stop hopping around the famous cartoon characters.

 

The festival is immensely popular in Korea, so more than two millions of people visit to the festival every year. It's not always good for everyone because it means a horrible traffic on the road. But it's safe to say that the festival is surely worth of visiting. You may get mesmerized by the tons of colors of lanterns, and the food at the festival will water your mouth all the time.

The best part of the festival is that it is one of the uncommon night festivals in Korea.  After school or work, people still have time to see the festival, so they can just go and have a fun time with their family and friends.                                                                                                         What you must not miss is the fireworks set off three times during the festival. Some people get to the venue even an hour earlier to get a great spot to see them.

This time around the year is also good for having a party on the riverside. You will probably see some groups of people having chimak (chicken & beer). Actually I did so with my language exchange mates a few years ago and it was really fun.

The following is a video about the festival created by Koreal Story. The video will give you a better explanation. Have a look at it. :)

P.S. From this year (2015), the festival is charged. You can find further information below.

http://www.yudeung.com

[Source]

Pic.1. https://twitter.com/jinjucityhall/status/517862516911665154

Pic.2. http://jsksoft.tistory.com/6473

Pic.3. http://ntvnews.kr/?m=201503&paged=2

Vid. https://youtu.be/44YgnlvP9KY

Introduction to My Blog

Hi there!

I’m Wigyu (a.k.a. Alex) living in Jinju City, Korea. (That’s why my blog is Jinjuman)

I was born here in 1988, when the capital of my country held a Summer Olympics. I guess you definitely know Seoul, but sadly not my hometown. That’s fine. That’s why I started my WordPress blog.

Nowadays I can see a lot of foreigners living in this small city. But I found there’s not a proper web page to help them to know about Jinju in English. So I decided to post things about my hometown from time to time. I’m not sure how long I will keep doing this. But I will try.

Thank you for reading. :)

Selma at Jinju Media Center (진주 미디어센터)

I finally watched it yesterday!

I first heard about the movie when I was listening to Power English on the radio. The teacher in the program mentioned the movie while she was explaining a current issue of America -- racism.

I guess the reason why the movie was produced this time around is indeed to tell people about human equality. I read American news articles often for language learning purposes. Come to think of it, I've read countless articles about racism, inequality among different colors, or restless violence of white police officers against black people. These constant reports may indicate that racisim is still going on even after an African-American was elected as the President.

This movie, I believe, will commemorate the spirits and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King and help all of us in the world to think about the importance of human equality regardless of colors, sex, ethnicity, etc.


P.S. Jinju Media Center shows independent movies regularly. You can book online or at the box office there. (I usually just go without making a reservation because there are always many seats available and online booking costs you a commission.)


[Further information]
http://cafe.daum.net/imjinju  (provided in Korean only)