Jeonju, South Korea

Standing in front of Pungnammun

Jeonju is a city in South Korea known for its famous Jeonju bibimbap (비빔밥), historic buildings, Jeonju Hanok Village, and innovative festivals. The city has been included in UNESCO's Creative Cities Network which recognizes the city's traditional home cooking handed down through generations over thousands of years, its active public and private food research, a system of nurturing talented chefs, and its hosting of distinctive local food festivals.

Prior to visiting Korea, I never thought of visiting Jeonju, not knowing much about it as a city and what it offered. But on a holiday weekend, one of my Korean friends was going back to her hometown, Jeonju, and had told me a lot about it and it intrigued me to visit. So I booked my ticket for the Korail and made a plan for the weekend to visit Jeonju and Yeosu for its Expo.

Armed with my backpack with a change of clothes and my camera, I set off early in the morning to Yongsan Station to catch the Mugunghwa (connecting train) for 17,400KWN from Yongsan to Jeonju and 9,900KWN for the Jeonju to Yeosu Expo leg. The train ride being around 3hrs long on the Mugunghwa.

Jeonju Railway Station

Upon arrival at the Jeonju Railway Station, I was waiting to meet up with my friend to pick me up from the station. The first thing on the menu? get some food because I was starving. Making our way through the city on bus and a short walk thereafter, we made it to a traditional Korean restaurant selling the famous Jeonju Bibimbap.

Jeonju bibimbap 비빔밥

The Jeonju Bibimbap was slightly different in taste from the regular dolsot bibimbap I usually have. It included many different things like almonds, taro, corn, carrots, mushrooms. It was also served with many different side dishes, which unfortunately, I did not enjoy too much.

After lunch, we made our way to Pungnammun which is the south gate of Jeonju. Closeby is the Jeonju Hanok Village where traditional arts and crafts are available for purchase, unique cafe shops, and other festivals.

It was a tiring day, but I still had to catch the train for Yeosu for my next stop for the weekend.