Taste Korea in Jeonju … 2019 Jeonju Bibimbap Festival to start on October 9

Jeonju: Jeonju, a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, will host the 2019 Jeonju Bibimbap Festival, a fiesta of traditional Korean taste and charm.

Under the slogan of “Mixing excitingly! Enjoying deliciously!” the festival will be held in Jeonju Hanok Village, Seohakdong Art Village, Jeonju Nambu Market and other spots in and around Jeonju on October 9 – 12.

Jeonju is a city that boasts a well-preserved traditional Korean culture and a lot of Asia’s tourist attractions, organizers said.

Bibimbap is white rice mixed with all sorts of vegetables, minced beef and hot pepper paste. Jeonju Bibimbap is the most popular Bibimbap both in and out of the country.

The festival will feature many other traditional dishes of Jeonju. It will reenact tables set for Jeolla provincial governors and their foreign guests in the Joseon Dynasty period according to the diary of a foreigner who visited the province 135 years ago.

Jeonju is located in the province and dishes on the table for ancient governors are regarded as the root of Jeonju cuisine.

In an eye-catching signature ceremony, a large amount of rice and other ingredients will be mixed in a jumbo bowl to make Bibimbap for about 5,000 servings at a time.

Other fun programs involving visitors now in place include a game awarding Bibimbap ingredients to prize winners and a cooking contest.

Traditional banquets and cultural performances are ready. About 1,000 children will be given a chance to cook Bibimbap for themselves.

The festival will also display utensils proper to Jeonju and tableware made in Icheon, a UNESCO City of Crafts in Gyeonggi Province, Korea and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, China.

“Jeonju Bibimbap is one of the most famous Korean foods loved by people all over the world. I hope everyone will enjoy various Jeonju dishes, including Bibimbap, and many fun programs in the 2019 Jeonju Bibimbap Festival,” Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su said.

Other events to be held in Jeonju in October include the 2019 Jeonju World Slowness Forum and Slowness Award (Oct. 1-2), a book fair (Oct. 4-6), the 2019 Jeonju International Sori Festival, the World Forum for Intangible Cultural Heritage (Oct. 10-12) and the 5th International Conference on the Economics of Happiness (Oct. 15-17).