t seems that everywhere in South Korea is famous for something.

If you love Korean bibimbap (a kind of fried rice with mixed toppings) Jeonju is the place to be!

It’s so famous that even when you tell a local Korean you’ve been to Jeonju, the first thing they do is: one, be surprised that you’ve actually gone to Jeonju and two, ask if you ate Jeonju Bibimbap.

But there’s more to share about Jeonju than just some good eating. Here we’ll explore all there is to eat, see and do in this culinary rich town – all in 48 hours!

efinitely a recommended eating spot for Jeonju Bibimbap is at a place called Gajok Hwegwan (가족 회관), one of the first bibimbap restaurants to open!

As advertised on their giant billboard sign, just looking at their house bibimbap was a feast for the eyes!

It not only looked amazing garnished generously and prepared with a rainbow of 

toppings, but you can really taste the freshness of the vegetables used in each bite. 

For us, however, the real surprise came with the gorgeously prepared spread of banchan (side dishes) that accompanied the meal. It came in waves, one after another, until it filled the entire table with the smell of good home cooking. Needless to say, we were very satisfied hungry travelers and at around $12 per person, it was well worth seeking this place out!

eonju is still a modern small town, but as a town built on such a rich history, it’s worth checking out the more historical sights around town.

The good thing is because of its small size, all the touristy things are a hop, skip and a jump from each other – very convenient.

eonju has a bit of a dark religious history of Catholic and Confusion beliefs. The Jeondong Catholic Church was constructed in tribute to Roman Catholic martyrs during the Joseon Dynasty.

If you are keen to learn more about it you can also visit the Confucian school as well as Martyr Mountain where they began burying the martyrs on the site, but I just enjoyed quietly admiring the church’s stained glass windows and architecture.

f you enjoy history the Gyeonggijeon Shrine acts as a historical exhibition about King Tae-jo, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty, and is also a museum about the royal life during the era.

Although it was a little scarce of people due to the winter season, the site was very

pleasant to just wander around as it has a few nature paths amongst the trees and through the bamboo grove. Make sure you take some time to admire the traditional shrine architecture and paintings!

uite possibly its most famous attraction, Jeonju’s Hanok Village is located near the heart of the city. It’s pretty huge with around 800 traditional hanok style buildings and despite the fact it began to rain a bit, it was very peaceful to just walk through the cobblestone streets, looking at the houses.

Although Hanok style houses are generally private guesthouses, some are open to public access where you can play traditional games such as ring toss or experience a

small slice of the past in the inner courtyard.

Within the village, you can find many activity centres like traditional tea houses, museums, restaurants, and general shops all with unique exteriors. The highlights for us were learning the process of making Soju at the Wine Museum, seeing the amazement of paper at the Jeonju Traditional Hanji Center, and looking at cure oddities in The Oriental Medicine Culture Center.

Two sets of games in a Hanok courtyard. And it ALWAYS involves precision hand-eye coordination! I suck at these games!

Me failing at the arrow toss game

Talyssa playing the ring toss game. These metal rings are really heavy!

Multicoloured jars of herb at The Oriental Medicine Culture Center

great way to finish off exploring the Hanok Village is a walk to the Omokdae pavilion. It’s a small hike but definitely refreshing and the reward is a complete view of the Hanok Village and business district of Jeonju.

Omokdae is where Lee Seong-gye and his men celebrated winning against the Japanese invaders who dominated Mount Hwangsan in the Namwon Unbong area and marked the founding of the Joseon dynasty.

his cafe was definitely one of our favourites during our visit. It’s called Blue Pekoe and has a French Provincial theme inside and out!

It was incredibly charming to sit inside and enjoy the traditional view

outside. In addition, all their tea is served using real bone china tea sets like Wedgewood and Royal Alfred. The drinking experience was a real treat as these cups can cost $80 and up!

HE ORCHARD cafe was another great cafe we discovered in town.

More modern in style, it was both an art space and a cafe all inside a minimalistic brick warehouse where you can stop and enjoy a break

as the owner’s Chow Chow walks around freely inside the cafe. Too adorable for words!

ARRIVING BY Train

From Seoul, take the train bound for Yongsan Station at City Hall Station. At Yongsan Station, you can take a train to Jeonju Station. The whole trip will take roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes.

ARRIVING BY BUS

From Seoul, you will need to take an express bus at the Central City Terminal. There are two options:

OPTION 1

Price: ₩16,000 – ₩17,000

Duration: 2HR 30MIN

The first express bus is called “센트럴-정안 고속버스(우등)” and will take you to Jeongan Service Area (To Suncheon) Express Bus Transfer Center.

At Jeongan Service Area (To Suncheon) Express Bus Transfer Center you will need to transfer to another express bus “정안-전주 고속버스(우등)” to Jeonju Express Bus Terminal.

OPTION 2

Price: around ₩26,100

Duration: 2HR 40MIN

This is the direct express bus called “센트럴-전주 고속버스(우등) ” and will head straight to Jeonju Express Bus Terminal.

ARRIVING BY Bus Shuttle

We were lucky enough to use the special Free Bus Shuttle promotion to travel to Jeonju during the Korea Grand Sale held every January. Check out the Korea Grand Sale website to see if there are any free shuttle bus tours available.

There is also an inexpensive foreigner exclusive Jeollabuk-do Shuttle Bus service available.

fter being unsuccessful in securing a traditional hanok for accommodation, we decided to stay at the Jeonju Tourist Hotel as it was conveniently located in the city area and easy to walk to the major tourist site seeing places.

If you want to experience sleeping the traditional way using an ondol (underfloor heating) they also have Korean-style guestrooms available but we opted for a western bedroom. The staff are super helpful and speak English as well should you have any questions.

lthough the sights that greeted us when walking through Jeonju’s picturesque Hanok Village were wonderful, there were also some unfortunate experiences during our trip:

• At the time of our visit, The Hanok Village was newly built and still under construction with many shop doors still shut and not opened for business. This is something to consider.
• Finding a person who can help guide you through the maze of buildings was very limited to just the souvenir stores. It’s very much a go-alone experience. The tourist centres were too far and not always opened.
• The advertised cultural activities were disappointing because we weren’t able to do ANY of them!  They either didn’t exist anymore or were not available on the particular day we visited, even though websites online claimed otherwise.
• Even bigger places such as The Jeonju Korean Traditional Wine Museum didn’t have their advertised soju making program on the day we visited.  No website reservations available only through the phone (Korean only – making things difficult!).

• We initially wanted to stay in a traditional hanok inside the village however we found it really hard to make a booking.  This is something you definitely want to plan quite a bit in advance.   It was also extremely difficult as for booking anything in Jeonju, there were no website reservations available only through the phone (Korean only).
• The handicraft workshop Kkotsugee Gongbang (숙이공방) where we heard you can make Korean paper dolls was no longer there and when we asked people where we could do Hanji making, the places they told us were Hanji souvenir shops that weren’t for classes.
• The Korean Lunar New Year was coming up which limited our exploration as many places were closed days leading up to the holiday.

Jeonju might have changed since the last time we’ve been or maybe it was because of the winter season, but we think if you want to have a more touristy experience book through a travel agency to be safe.

• A single day will suffice if you don’t plan on participating in any cultural activities (hanji making etc) or if they aren’t available.

• Make sure you write everything in Korean or have the address in Korean. As Jeonju is not a major city like Seoul you will find that the locals (especially taxi drivers) will not understand English/ English written Korean Hangul. Maps in both English and Korean will help you navigate around.

• If you think that Google Maps will help you find your way around South Korea as a non-speaker think again! It also uses full Korean Hangul so even though you type in your address in English Hangul, the street names will still be in full Hangul.
• When you are ready to go back to Seoul there are two bus terminals in Jeonju and only one of them goes to Seoul. Make sure you tell the taxi driver you want to go to Seoul so you aren’t in the wrong place.