A Trip to Jeonju

For this spring break and my birthday, Teresa and I visited the city of Jeonju, famous for its “Hanok Village” that features traditional Korean architecture.  It’s a little French Quarter, a little Colonial Williamsburg, a little Disneyland.

Readers of “Adventures in Korea” have come to expect only truth and integrity from this blog. We will not start lying now.  Jeonju was good, but not great.  It’s the least satisfying trip we’ve taken so far. There were a number of reasons, but a central one is that Jeonju seeks to recreate the authentic Korea. But freezing a historical moment feels inevitably inauthentic, especially when that moment is heavily edited to present to the tourists who come to experience it. Also: the futons in hanok hotels are really thin. We suppose that’s authentic!

That out of the way, here’s what we enjoyed in Jeonju, which features the “Old Hanok Village,” in which all the buildings are constructed in the style of traditional Korean architecture.

To go with the traditional architecture there are narrowed streets with low walls.

And our hotel was similarly in the old Korean style.

The old town also has small museums dedicated to traditional crafts such as fan, paper and soju making.

We especially liked the little figure that shows the first step in making soju (Korean traditional alcohol). Step 1: “Perform ablations and calm down feelings before making wine.” There was also a specialty drinking cup which, if memory serves, was designed to hang off the ears from the two spiky bits on the side. Unfortunately, memory does not serve regarding why one would do that. It was either to make drinking easier or harder, but I cannot recall which.

Jeonju likewise prides itself on its traditional Korean cuisine, especially bibimbap (비빔밥) and kongnamul gukbap (콩나물 국).  Bibimbap is much more well known (deservedly, I think), a mixture of several vegetables and sometimes meat over rice, often topped with an egg.  It’s best when served in a super hot stone bowl. Kongnamul gukbap is a bean sprout soup with rice.  It has a light taste and is thought to be good for eating if one has a hangover–maybe after drinking from a cup suspended from one’s ears.  The soup is served amazingly piping hot.

The food was good, particularly the bibimbap, but Teresa and I both felt we have been happily spoiled by modern innovations in Korean cooking, especially barbecue and fried chicken. Jeonju also has a lively street food scene.  We got a kind of octopus kabob that we enjoyed. It is covered with a mild white cheese that is a specialty of the area.

Then there is traditional dress. The streets of Jeonju are lined with shops that rent hanbok, traditional Korean dress.  One can do this in areas around the palaces in Seoul too, and I am sure other places in Korea.  One nice thing about the hanok rental in Jeonju: it is the deep cuts version. Previously, all of the hanbok I’ve seen replicates the clothes of  the Joseon elite.  Jeonju had a lot of those styles, but also some that must have dated from twentieth-century Korea–styles reminiscent of early twentieth-century clothing in the west.  It is fun watching the people wander the old hanok village in their hanbok.

Of course, people who complain about an area being too touristy are usually themselves tourists, as were we. So, yes, we too rented hanbok.

The least appealing, most touristy aspect of the hanok village were the many souvenir shops that all sold the same refrigerator magnets, keychain fobs, and similar tchotchkes, along with stalls where you could have your caricature drawn. These were all on the main streets and numerous. The more interesting museums are harder to find in alleys, and, unfortunately, more frequently closed. The best antidote to the volume of these shops was a truly lovely tea shop we visited.

Jeonju, like many Korean cities, is surrounded by mountains. And, like many Korean cities, it is beautiful in this respect. There is also a small river that borders the hanok village.

Also typical: excellent bike paths. And what trip would be complete without a little bike riding. Teresa and I rented a tandem. It costs only 1000 won (89 cents!) to do so.  We highly recommend renting a bike if you visit.  There are a few public bike rental stands on the outskirts of the hanok village.

At the center of the hanok village and a key tourist attraction is the Gyeonggijeon Shrine, which was first built in 1410 and holds a portrait of the founder of the Joseon dynasty, King Taejo.

The shrine itself is like a walled park, and there are also a set of interesting buildings that supported rituals conducted in the shrine. There are free interpretive tours in English. Unfortunately, we missed the one we were going to go to, but did the day before get a similarly free interpretive tour of the hanok village alleys. We recommend it.

We also highly recommend visiting the Korea National Intangible Heritage Center, which is located in Jeonju, just outside of the hanok village. The center focuses on traditional Korean crafts and the people who make them.  The architecture of the center, which beautifully harmonizes with the landscape, is also striking. In addition to the exhibits, we liked the video playing in one of the center’s courtyards.  We didn’t understand the Korean, but the video clearly presented three traditional Korean folk characters explaining Korean culture to two alien visitors.

At the center, among the displays, were some masks from traditional Korean dramas.  I’d like to think that these three noblemen masks displayed provided a carnivalesque counterpoint to the portrait of King Taejo.

One way or another, cultural creation is always recreation.