2018 JB LIFE! Magazine Spring.

LB: And it doesn’t take forever to get to the other side of
the city.
LB: Yes, I feel like that would be weird! The most I ever do
when I see another foreigner is smile and nod.
AB: Yes. As I said, it’s the perfect size – geographically, but also
in the number of people. It’s a good-sized city. It’s similar to
my hometown in terms of population, and I like that. It feels
like a second hometown.
AB: It does feel weird now, but it didn’t then. But there were also
far fewer foreigners. Also, in those days, lots of little kids would
chase you on the street, shouting “Waygookin! Waygookin!” That
doesn’t happen anymore because there are more of us.
LB: You’ve stayed in the same place for quite some time. What
has led you to stick around?
LB: What about life as a foreign resident, wanting a taste of
home? What did that look like for you in your early days here?
AB: I think there’s a good community among the Westerners
here. There are activities and groups for most people’s
interests. There are book clubs, ukulele clubs, volunteering
organizations…whatever you like to do to give back to the
community, you can find a place to do it. For me, I’m involved
in KOTESOL, a professional organization for English teachers,
and I’m a deacon at the Jungbu English Church.
LB: How has the foreign community in Jeonju changed since
you’ve been living here?
AB: I arrived in Korea before Facebook, before any social
media. If you saw someone who appeared to be another
Westerner, you would actually go up and say hello and talk
to them, but now it feels like that doesn’t happen anymore.
AB: When I first arrived in Jeonju, there were no Western or ethnic
restaurants. There were a few Italian-ish restaurants, but that was
it. There was nothing Thai or Vietnamese or Indian or Mexican…
nothing like that. You couldn’t even buy cheddar cheese or peanut
butter in Jeonju. We would go to Seoul just for that.
LB: And I’m sure getting to Seoul and transportation in
general has changed a lot.
AB: Yes, definitely. When I came, I landed at Gimpo Airport
because Incheon Airport didn’t open for another year and a
half. From Gimpo to Jeonju took four hours by bus, because the
Nonsan-Cheonan highway didn’t exist yet. You had to drive
through Daejeon and around and up to get to Seoul. The KTX
didn’t yet exist either.
Hyoja-Dong in 2005 Hyoja-Dong in 2017
Images captured from Google Earth.
From the river to Jeonju
University was rice fields, with
a twisty-turny one lane road.
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