Exploring Jeonju Hanok Village – Day 2

15 November 2025

We started the day with a morning walk along the Jeonjucheon River that has a couple of historic structures overlooking the river. They are the Cheongyeonru Pavilion and the Namcheongyo Bridge.  

Next to the river is a walking/cycling trail that is popular with the fitness-crazy locals. The sun was barely up and I could spy many Jeonju residents jogging and walking along this trail.

Sun peeping above the roof of the Cheongyeonru Pavilion, built in the middle of the Namcheongyo Bridge.

Namcheongyo Bridge is the main bridge to the south entrance of Jeonju Hanok Village.

The riverside is especially beautiful in autumn when the reeds are flowering.

There are stepping stones across the stream.

Best place to photograph the stream, bridge and pavilion is on the middle of the stepping stones.

Morning market along the Jeonju steam

We took a slow walk towards the Jeonju Nambu Market and chanced upon a morning market by the river. This street market opens for a short period from 4 AM to 10 AM in the morning and is called the ‘Dawn Goblin Market.’  

Pop-up stalls lined the trail along the stream, across from Nambu Market.

I love to visit local markets as I get to see the local farm produce and what the local people enjoy buying. Fresh food from wholesale markets, fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers are traded here.    

Farmer wheeling a load of large radishes to the morning market. 

Garlic is a key ingredient in Korean cooking.

Persimmons are in season during autumn.

We noticed most of the sellers are elderly women.

Ginseng and other herbs.

Nambu Market

Nambu Market is the largest among Jeonju traditional markets. It has many things to see, enjoy and eat. Nambu Market was formed by the markets that stood and gathered around Pungnammun Gate, the only remaining gate among the four main gates of Jeonju that faces the four directions of the compass. The name implies that this was the southern gate.

Most people coming from the hanok village will enter Nambu Market from the market’s front gate, located next to the Pungnammun Gate. For us, we entered from the south gate facing the river.

Southern entrance to Nambu Market, facing the river.

The market is a covered market with little alleyways criss-crossing the area.

There are stalls selling woven wood basket and woven rice colander spoon, handmade cast iron cauldron, and craftsmen-style wood furniture and tableware. These are interesting to look at but not for us to buy.

Interesting to see the kitchenware and household items used in Korea.

We went to search for the famous Hyundaiok stall serving rice soup with bean sprouts or Kongnamul Gukbap, one of the Jeonju’s renowned delicacies. Jeonju is famous for its unique, flavorful bean sprouts, particularly those grown in clean local spring water. Crisp and savoury, they are the star ingredients in the city's signature dish.

The dish is consumed by the locals as a hangover soup if they drank too much soju or makgeolli the previous night.

Hyundaiok is located in a narrow alleyway but was easy to find with the help of Google map or Naver Map.

There is limited seating for around 10 people inside. We managed to get seats immediately since we came early. This popular stall will usually have a queue later in the day. We noticed people queuing outside when we left.    

There are some seats at the counter where you could interact with the sellers and watch them prepare your meal.

The menu is simple. The standard Kongnamul Gukbap is 8000 KRW per bowl. The Kongnamul Gukbap uses lots and lots of super long bean sprouts. For those who want some protein with the dish, squid can be added to the dish for an additional 2000 KRW.

We ordered 2 bowls of gukbap with added diced squid. The squid added some umami and chewy texture to the dish but I would skip it if I were to eat this again. The soup was already very good without the squid.

The stall also serves up 4 side dishes or banchan that includes tiny fermented salted shrimps and 3 types of kimchi.

Each bowl of gukbap came with 2 semi-cooked eggs in a bowl. This stall was featured in a Netflix documentary on Korean food and I learnt what to do with the eggs.

The seafood soup came with half-cooked eggs and there is a recommended method to eat it here.

We added a few tablespoons of the boiling hot broth from the gukbap to the eggs to further cook it. There are packets of laver on the dining table. We also crushed some of the laver and added them to the eggs. Stir well and slurp the tasty, warm sticky mixture to warm the stomach.

Jeonju eggs, ready to eat. 

Since I like to eat soft-boiled eggs, I enjoyed the eggs with added taste from the broth.

Rice is at the bottom of the gukbap.

This was my first time to try Kongnamul Gukbap or Korean beansprout soup and we loved it. It was a value for money, tasty breakfast. Highly recommended, even if we were not suffering a hangover.

Tip: My hanok host also recommended another restaurant serving this tasty dish. It is at Waeng I Kongnamul-gukbap, located just outside of the Jeonju Hanok Village.

After enjoying our breakfast, we continued a leisurely exploration of the market. We bought a pyjamas for 10,000 KRW from one of the clothing stalls.

We were tempted to buy some “ajumma” pants and tops but thankfully didn’t.

Fermented fish.       

Barrels full of Saeujeot or fermented salted shrimps. A key ingredient for making kimchi.

We also walked by another restaurant that our hanok owner recommended. This restaurant serves the sundae (blood sausage) gukbap, another Jeonju delicacy. Pork offal (liver, stomach and heart), meat and sundae are boiled in an earthenware bowl and served with rice added to the soup.

Famous stall serving sundae gukbap in Nambu Market. But we were too full to eat more gukbap.

Pungnammun Gate

Leaving Nambu Market, we headed towards Jeonju Hanok Village. Located in the middle of a traffic roundabout is an impressive structure. This is Pungnammun Gate, built during the Joseon dynasty.

Pungnammun Gate with remaining sections of the fortress wall that used to surround and protect Jeonju.

It stands as the last remaining gate of the four that were once part of Jeonju's fortress walls. There is no access to the gate structure and its walled ramparts.

There are many gingko trees planted on the side of the roads leading to the gate and the area was beautiful in autumn.

    

Gyeonggijoen Shrine

The place we wanted to visit in the hanok village is the Gyeonggijoen Shrine. It cost 3,000 KRW per person to enter this historic site. The shrine holds the portrait of King Tae-jo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty.

Trees with colourful autumn foliage outside the Gyeonggijoen Shrine. 

Best time to visit is in autumn with the autumn foliage all over the site.

      

We joined the 11 AM free English language tour. We were hosted by an excellent guide who explained the history of the shrine and why the king’s portrait is important to the Korean people, especially those in Jeonju. Jeonju is the hometown of Yi Seong-gye who later became King Taejo.

We could sense a bit of bitterness in her when she explained how the shrine that was first erected in 1410 was partially destroyed during Imjin War (1592-1598). It was rebuilt and damaged again. The existing structure was rebuild again in 1614.

We walked through a series of gates to the Jeongjeon Hall (Main Hall) located at the heart of Gyeonggijeon. It is a beautiful mid-Joseon structure with a gabled roof, housing King Taejo's portrait.

Hongsalmun, leading to the hall containing the King’s Portrait.

The roof is nicely painted with figures of auspicious animals such as bats! Bats are considered lucky in Chinese and Korean culture.

The portrait of the king displayed here is a replica. Not surprising.

Jeonjusago Archives

The guide then brought the group to a small hut called the Jeonju Sago. The Jeonju Sago wooden building was specially designed and constructed with raised floor to provide good ventilation and avoid dampness. It now housed copy of Joseon Wangjo Sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty).

During the Joseon era, journals were kept of the king's daily activities by palace scribes. It was interesting to learn from the guide that the King is not privy to what was written in these annals so it would be unbiased.

Much information about the Joseon era are gained from these journals. It was fortunate that the journals were hidden in the nearby mountains of Naejangsan and Myohyangsan and safe from destruction during Japanese colonial days. 

This Jeonju Sago building which holds the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty appears in episode 10 of  “Love in the Moonlight.” k-drama.

      

Royal Portrait Museum

The tour ended outside the Royal Portrait Museum and we were encouraged to view the exhibits within on our own.

This museum exhibits the original portraits of Joseon kings and other relics like royal palanquins.

 

Portrait of King Tae-jo.

The portraits of other successive kings such as Sun-jong, Cheol-jong, Yeong-jo and many others.

The museum also showcases how the portrait was moved from Seoul to Jeonju over 8 days. There was a long procession, with guards, horses and palanquins, that resembles the travel of an actual king.

The palanquin carrying the royal portrait.

Document showing the composition of the procession.

The actual box containing the portrait. 

Details of the travel are all documented by scribes. 

There was a section showing how artists create the replica paintings. It was interesting to see that paint was applied on both sides of the canvas.

Paints and tools used to create replicas of the portraits.

Paint was applied to both the front and back of the portrait.

There are other interesting Joseon era buildings to explore with the grounds of the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

Many visitors were dressed in hanboks and doing photoshoot between and within these buildings. Many of these buildings were actually used to film movies and dramas depicting the Joseon era, such as the drama “Love in the Moonlight.”

 

 

 

 

Lush trees and bamboo surround the structures, creating a peaceful atmosphere for exploration and photography.

The trees are extremely nice in autumn.

Bamboo grove and gate used as a backdrop in the k-drama “Love in the Moonlight.”

Lunch at Jeondong Ddeokgalbi

Leaving the shrine, we walked along the Gyeonggijeon Stone Wall Road to the Jeondong Ddeokgalbi restaurant.

Jeondong Ddeokgalbi in Jeonju is a popular spot for delicious bibimbap and traditional Korean dishes. We ordered the beef bulgogi bibimbap, tteokgalbi, and a bottle of makgeolli.

Tteokgalbi is a popular Korean dish of sweet and savory grilled short rib patties, resembling burgers. It is juicy and sweeter in seasoning.

The tteokgalbi is juicy inside and quite tasty.

The bibimbap topped with flavorful beef and vegetables.

Eight delightful side dishes, rice and a bowl of soup are included.

Changing of the Guards Ceremony

We went back to the entrance of Gyeonggijeon Shrine after lunch. We were just in time to catch the “changing of the guard” ceremony. 

The guards are dresses in traditional Joseon era uniforms.

Protected by the imperial guards.

      

Jeonju Hanok Alley Tour

We joined the free hanok village alley tour at 3 PM. The meeting point for this tour is outside the entrance of the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

There are roughly 700 traditional Korean homes that remain in the village today and we figured it would be good to join the tour instead of wandering around aimlessly.

Our small tour group consists of visitors from many countries. Most of them, like us, had attended the earlier 11 AM tour of the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

The English speaking guide explained the Jeonju used to be surrounded by a stone city wall with 4 gates. Only the south gate remained and Taejo-ro road, just outside the Gyeonggijeon Shrine leading to the gate, used to be part of the city wall.

Across the street from the Gyeonggijeon Shrine is the Jeondong Catholic Church. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter on this day. Standing outside the church, our guide told us how the Catholic religion was started in Korea. Not by preachers. Instead the local people learnt about it from generic western documents from China’s Ming dynasty that had contact with western countries.

Early catholics were persecuted due to conflicts with Confucianism ancestor worship practices. The church was built on grounds where several catholic martyrs were executed, just outside the city wall. The wall is now demolished. Ironically, the stone from the walls is said to be used as material for the church.

We visited a few places of interest within the hanok village during the tour. This includes the Hagindang, a 600 year old gingko tree, pansori museum, home of last prince of Joseon and even a house with 3 flags (Korean, France and USA) flying outside.

Our guide with us outside Hagindang.

Hagindang is the oldest traditional Korean house in Jeonju Hanok Village and is now operating as a luxury guesthouse. It was used a filming location of a Korean drama series “Mr Sunshine”. Unfortunately we are not allowed to go in.

The 600 year old gingko tree is located along Eunhaeng-ro. Our guide told us to take 5 deep breaths to fill our mind with good luck, health and happiness.

Picking up a leaf from a 600 year old gingko tree located along Eunhaeng-ro.

Walking along a narrow alley to a house with 3 flags on the roof. 

The house with 3 flags is known as the House of Four Doctorate Degrees.

The occupants of the house (3 sons and son-in-law) graduated with Doctorate degrees from universities in Korea, France and USA.

    

Some of the narrow alleyways inside the hanok village.  

We also saw the home of last of
prince of Joseon. He was treated like normal man and even served in the Vietnam War (Korea sent troops to support the US forces during this war). 

Seunggwangjae, the traditional Hanok in the Jeonju Hanok Village, is the house of the last prince Yi Seok.

Our tour ended near Omokdae. We then took a walk to Jeonju hyanggyo where there are many gingko trees inside.

View of Na-Hee Do’s house on the way to Jeonju Hyanggyo.  

Jeonju Hyanggyo

Jeonjuhyanggyo is a Confucian school that was established during the Joseon dynasty. The school was originally located at the Gyeonggijeon Shrine site, but was relocated in 1603.

Many k-dramas were filmed in this historic site.

We came to see the many yellow gingko trees planted within. The place was quite crowded and many visitors were snapping photos of the trees, lit by the warm glow of the setting sun.

The site is popular for its 400-year-old ginkgo tree in the front yard, and is most beautiful in fall. 

    

Plenty of gingko trees with yellow autumn leaves.

Another matured gingko tree in the courtyard.

Jeonjuhyanggyo was a good place to rest and relax till it was time for dinner.

Dinner at Gyodong Tteokgalbi

We ended our exploration of the hanok village with dinner at Gyodong Tteokgalbi. No, not another bibimbap and tteokgalbi restaurant!

Actually, we wanted to eat at Monsieur Patate, a pizza restaurant. It was full-house by the time we got there. So, we did some research and chose to go to Gyodong Tteokgalbi based on its good reviews.

By now, we had our fill of bibimbap. We ordered their signature tteokgalbi  that was quite delicious.

Set of Tteokgalbi for 2 that came with side dishes, soup and rice.

After dinner, we went back to our hanok and received a pleasant surprise. The hanok owner, knowing we are leaving Jeonju very early the next morning, left us some goodies in a little basket as a parting gift.

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