Jeonju

Jeonju (전주) is a small city in the mid-western part of South Korea. It was the capital during the Hubaekje kingdom and was considered the spiritual capital during the Joseon dynasty. Jeonju is most famous for its delicious food.

While it is a small town, Jeonju offers many things to do. The most famous of these is eating. Jeonju is famous for bibimbab (비빔밥) and soybean sprout soup (콩나물국밥, ‘kongnamool gukbap’). Jeonju is so famous for its food that people from all over Korean come just to eat Jeonju delicacies.

Jeonju is home to a famous Hanok village, the Jeonju Hanok Village (전주한옥마을). The Hanok village is home to traditional constructed houses with many shops selling traditional goods and foods. Sprawling over a distance of about 1 ½ square miles and about 800 traditional houses, the Hanok village is absolutely huge.

The village is home to many local artists who own a shop or booth along the street. It is also home to many mom and pop restaurants, traditional Korean hotels, and museums. The most popular things to eat in the Hanok village are soybean sprout soup, patbingsu (팟빙수), which is a delicious red bean ice cream dessert, and  Igang wine, Jeonju’s traditional makkeolli.

Pictured is Soybean Sprout Soup and Jeonju Makkeolli

My recommendation is to walk around the village until you get hot, then go to "Grandmother's Best" (외할머니 솜씨) for some of the best patbingsu you'll ever have. Grandmother's Best is quite popular, and the line is often times quite long, so it's best to just take the patbingsu to-go. If you take your patbingsu to-go, go eat it at Jeonju Hyanggyo (전주향교), Jeonju's Confucian school. The school is a couple hundred years old and is a beautiful campus to walk around. The school is open to the public to walk around during the day. Just be remember to respectful and quite when you're at the school because class is in session during open walking hours. 

After eating your patbingsu, go back to the village, and walk around some more. Visit the Jeongdong Cathedral (전동성당), one of Korea’s oldest Catholic churches and famous for its classic Spanish architecture. Then browse the outdoor booths looking at the local artists’ work. Once you work up an appetite, go sit down for lunch/dinner and eat some soybean sprout soup with some traditional Jeonju makkeolli.

Jeonju, outside of the Hanok village, is a great city. The downtown area has a great shopping area with many cute and fashionable clothes that would please any fashionista/cheapskate. It’s also home to a lotus pond and water fountain that turns into a movie screen at night.

Playing Roy Kim's "봄봄봄" ('Bom Bom Bom', 'Sping Spring Spring')

Jeonju is an absolutely beautiful city home to some of the nicest people I have met during my time in Korea. If you are a foodie or just love to travel, make sure to stop by Jeonju. Just a word of warning, not many Jeonju residents speak English or speak English well, so if you don’t speak Korean, make sure to bring a dictionary!