I had a short overnight trip to Jeonju at the end of January. Jeonju is a tourist city in Korea which is famous for Hanok Village and Bibimbap. Recently, it has become more popular for some unusual snacks at the food alley there. Plus, I really recommend going to Jeonju to those who are on their first visit to Korea because this place possess a ‘Korean’ atmosphere and provides detailed information for tourists. Today’s posting is about transportation: how to actually get to Jeonju from Seoul, and getting around the city. I will talk about food and accommodation next time in part 2.
Transportation
Intercity bus is a quick and convenient public transportation to visit Jeonju. You can get a ticket for Jeonju at Central City Terminal on-site or by booking tickets online (www.hticket.co.kr). Through online reservation, you can select the date, time, destination, and seat. After this step, register your credit card number for payment. At the terminal, all you have to do is insert your credit card you registered in the quick ticket machine and get your tickets. Central City Terminal (for Honam area) is right next to Seoul Express Bus Terminal (서울고속버스터미널). So you can get off at Seoul Express Bus Terminal station (subway line 3, 7, and 9) to get there.
Jeonju Hanok Village
Jeonju Hanok Village (전주한옥마을) is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Jeonju. Hanok Village was formed around 1930 (during Japanese colonial era) against the influence of Japanese in Kyodong (교동) and Pung-namdong (풍남동). These Korean style houses are still well preserved and offers you the view of beautiful curved roof line. ‘Omokdae (오목대)’ and ‘Emokdae (이목대)’, the best two view places in Jeonju, are within a ten minute walk from the entrance of Hanok village. From there, you can see the whole view of the Hanok village. The night view is also amazing, according to various sources.
Walking down, it’s time to move inside the village. There are some courses for the village tour presented on the website but I just wandered around. One of the good points about traveling to Jeonju is that all the tourist spots are gathered closely together which makes it easy to find the places you want to visit. In the village, there are Korean restaurants that sell Bibimbap, Bean Sprout and Rice Soup, and other Jeonju-style food (I will talk a lot about food in part 2.).
There are also many places for cultural experiences such as wearing Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes), traditional handcrafts, and calligraphy class. You can get more detailed information on the website, tour.jeonju.go.kr.
Jeondong Catholic Church
Personally, I think the best spot in Jeonju was Jeondong Catholic Church (정동성당). It is the oldest Catholic Church in Korea and shows elaborate design. Jeondong Catholic Church is crowded with many tourists taking photos in the daytime so it would best to visit in the evening. Actually, the church was more beautiful at night. Although I’m not Catholic, I was impressed with warm atmosphere surrounding the church.
Article by Wonji from Korea
myHUBS 
Leave a comment