DECEMBER 2024
I absolutely loved the Nakasendo trail in which we visited the traditional villages Magome and Tsumago in Japan, so I knew I wanted to see something similar in South-Korea. In Japan we stayed in a classic ryokan and absolutely loved this experience. We therefore booked a stay in it’s Korean counterpart: a traditonal hanok. However, our experience in Jeonju Hanok Village was not what you would expect. You can for sure have a good time in Jeonju, you just have to set your expectations right. I will try to help you with this blog.
Where we stayed
We started off on the wrong foot in Jeonju, because we didn’t like our Hanok stay. We booked a 4-person room in Hanok Story Guesthouse. This room consists of three spaces, one with an “almost” bed, one room with futon style beds and a little toilet area. Immediately when we arrived, you could feel that the hospitality was much different than the ryokan experience we had before. The owners didn’t greet us, we had to follow a sign to find our room, it was impersonal. We booked one of the better looking and rated Hanoks, but the room wasn’t maintained very well and also had mold. The futon beds were incredibly uncomfortable and they had syntetic bedding. For one night it would have worked, but we were supposed to stay another night. The Hanok did include breakfast, which was simple but fine. The fact that only foreigners stay in a Hanok tells you everything you have to know. Because we found the stay incredibly uncomfortable and terrible for our backs, we decided to check out early and move to a hotel.
We ended up booking the Jeonju Jazz Around hotel, which was a 15 minute taxi ride from the Hanok village, but had great value and amazing beds. We also discovered that this area is where the Koreans stay, as we joined a Korean BBQ without an English menu and without tourists. If you want to visit a traditional Hanok village, I would recommend to stay in a regular hotel, and not in a Hanok, especially when you have back issues. Most Hanoks do not offer the services that a ryokan does. We would have loved a tea ceremony or a personal greeting, but that is not the regular service.
Our experience in Jeonju Hanok Village
When you visit Jeonju Hanok Village you have to set your expectations right. I expected a very quaint, traditional village, but instead found a bustling town, with well maintained Hanoks that were decked out in advertisements and signs. There are lots of stores where you can rent a Hanbok (traditional Korean dress), which is one of the favorite things to do for many tourists. So you will see girls in a Hanok, posing with streets full of modern billboards, it was a strange sight. To me all the billboards took away from the picturesque town I expected. A traditional Hanok house selling kebab, macarons, whatever you can think of. Because I don’t like to take pictures of unaesthetic scenes, I cannot show you how bad it was… sorry! The fact that I don’t have a picture twirling in the middle of the street is very telling.
Jeonju Hanok Village is a very popular destination for Korean tourists, so this is your chance to join in on a very Korean activity.
We did a free walking tour (information here) and had a very knowledgable guide, who explained about Korean history and culture. Not so much about Jeonju itself, but this was fine by us, it was a great way to spend an hour. Our guide also took us to the fan museum, where Hugo was allowed to decorate a fun, which was a very cute activity.
Before we went to explore on our own, we had to try Bibimbap, a Korean dish that I absolutely love. Bibimbap has it’s birth place in Jeonju and you can find many restaurants offering different styles, which are presented in a very cool way. The restaurant below was very good, but I couldn’t find the name as it was only written in Korean.
After lunch we visited the Gyeonggijeon Shrine, it only costs a few euros to enter. Apparently this location is very famous because of all the K-dramas that were filmed here. The buildings are beautiful, lots of photo opportunities, no weird billboards… and there is a fun exhibition in the museum as well.
Via the viewpoint Omokdae we walked to Jaman Mural Village, which was one of the cuter mural villages that we visited in South Korea. I even found my friend Kung-Fu Panda!
One of the things that we really liked about Jeonju were the water canals that we would find everywhere. Jeonju Hanok Village has many water features that Hugo loved to play in (which was allowed). So definitely bring swim gear for the kids!
You can visit the main sights of Jeonju in less than a day, so certainly not necessary to stay for two nights. Looking back I would have loved an extra night in Busan instead of Jeonju… but sometimes you make the wrong decision. It is a fun destination for holiday vibes, the town lights up beautifully at night, it has good restaurants, it just wasn’t a highlight for us.
