Beyond Seoul
Jeonju trip guide
A city of traditional hanok houses, Joseon-era sites, markets and riverside paths.
A good short trip from Seoul for travelers who want traditional houses, Joseon-era history and old market streets, with many of the sights close together around the Hanok Village.
Getting there from Seoul
About 1 hr 40 min
Yongsan Station to Jeonju Station by KTX high-speed train, depending on the train.
Train times and fares change by day and by train — check them on KORAIL’s official booking page. You book with KORAIL directly; millio doesn’t sell tickets.
A 2-day plan
Stops are grouped by area. Travel times between stops aren’t included — check a map app for each hop.
Day 1
Hanok lanes, Joseon-era sites and Nambu Market
- Evening
- Omokdae and ImokdaeSight
Day 2
Hillside lanes, the riverside and an art village
Places· 13
Each place links to the official page it was checked against.
Hanok Village
Jeonju Hanok Village
A district in the middle of the city where more than 700 traditional hanok houses remain, with narrow lanes to walk and small museums, craft studios and galleries along them.
Sight · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Gyeonggijeon Shrine
A shrine that enshrines the portrait of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, with a main hall, a former archive for the royal annals and a portrait museum set among bamboo and pine groves.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Jeondong Catholic Cathedral
A Romanesque red-brick cathedral at the entrance of the village, finished in 1914 on the site where Catholics were martyred in 1791.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Omokdae and Imokdae
Two historic sites on a low hill beside the village, tied to Yi Seong-gye, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, with the village lights spread out below at night.
Sight · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Old town & Nambu Market
Jeolla Gamyeong
The restored provincial government office that oversaw the Jeolla region for over 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty, with rebuilt halls to walk into and exhibitions about its history.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Pungnammun Gate
The south gate of Jeonju’s old fortress, the one of its four gates that still stands, with Nambu Market right in front of it.
Sight · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Nambu Market
A traditional market founded in 1905, where long-standing shops sell dried seafood, vegetables and local specialties, with a Youth Mall of small shops and studios on the second floor.
Market · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
East of the village
Jeonju Hyanggyo
A traditional Confucian school with roots in the late Goryeo period, where Daeseongjeon Hall enshrines Confucius’s tablet and a courtyard of old trees turns golden with ginkgo leaves in autumn.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Hanbyeokdang Pavilion
A traditional pavilion built into a cliff above the Jeonju Stream, where scholars once wrote poems and whose scenery was counted among the Eight Scenic Views of Jeonju.
Sight · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Jaman Mural Village
A hillside village just behind the Hanok Village, where murals now cover the walls of the narrow lanes and stairways, with a view back over the village’s tiled roofs.
Sight · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Seohak-dong
Cheongyeonru and Namcheongyo
A pavilion on top of a bridge over the Jeonju Stream, with a riverside walking path lined with cherry blossoms in spring and reeds and maple leaves in autumn.
Outdoors · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Seohak-dong Art Village
An old neighborhood across Namcheongyo Bridge where artists have turned old houses into small studios and galleries along quiet alleys.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
National Intangible Heritage Center
A national center for intangible heritage, with exhibition galleries, performance halls, a digital hall for hands-on experiences and an archive of heritage videos.
Culture · Source: tour.jeonju.go.kr(opens in a new tab)
Where to stay
Pick an area first, then search it on a booking site.
Hanok Village
For a stay among the traditional houses — the village has guesthouses in hanok, and the Day 1 sights are close by.
Search on
Jeonju Station & Deokjin
For an early or late train: the KTX from Seoul stops at Jeonju Station in Deokjin district, where the station has a tourist information center.
Search on
Prices and availability are on each site. These are plain search pages with no affiliate codes — millio earns nothing from them.
Good to know
KTX trains to Jeonju leave Yongsan Station more often than Seoul Station, so search from Yongsan when you compare times.
Jeonju’s tourist information centers, including ones in the Hanok Village and at Jeonju Station, give out maps and guidebooks and offer luggage storage.
On Jeonju city buses, board at the front door and touch your transit card as you get on and again as you get off — the second touch is what makes a transfer to another route count.
k.ride is Kakao’s taxi app for visitors and can be set up with an email address, with no Korean phone number needed.