Travel from Incheon International Airport to Jeonju Hanok Village

14 November 2025

We planned to stay a couple of days in a hanok located within Jeonju Hanok Village after our arrival to South Korea. The distance between Incheon International Airport (ICN) and Jeonju city is about 242 km. There are various ways to travel from Incheon International Airport to Jeonju Hanok Village. 

The fastest way to get from Incheon International Airport (ICN) to Jeonju is to drive but I did not plan to get a rental car on this trip.

Alternatively, we could take a train from the airport to Jeonju Hanok Village via Seoul Station, Gwangmyeong Station, and Jeonju Station in around 4.5 hours. From there, we would have to take a taxi to the Jeonju Hanok Village.

We chose the best and also cheapest way to get from Incheon Airport (ICN) to Jeonju which was by express bus which costs $28 - $40 and takes slightly over 3 hours. The bus terminal is located close to the Jeonju Hanok Village.

Our flight arrived as scheduled and by the time we cleared immigration, it was around 8 AM. The bus ticket counter and ticketing machines was just outside the gate in the arrival hall.

We chose to go to the ticket counter as there were queues on the ticketing machines. I was telling my wife that Jeonju is pronounced as “Cheonju” just like Jeju is pronounced as Cheju by the Koreans.

It was 8.08 AM when we got our tickets and the ticket seller told us to hurry as the bus is leaving at 8.10 am from the bus bay nearby.

With the tickets on hand, we rushed to the bus stops for the various limousine buses, located just outside the arrival hall of the airport. We managed to catch the bus on time. The good thing about taking the limousine bus is that our suitcases are loaded onto the luggage compartment on the side of the bus and we need not lug them up to our seats. The express buses are also very spacious with comfortable reclinable seats.

Interior of the Express Bus with 3 reclinable seats per row.

The bus left immediately after we boarded. I was feeling a bit uneasy since the bus fare was slightly lower than what I had expected. On inspecting our tickets, it showed our destination as Cheongju! 

We are going to Cheongju?

It was good that we had internet connections on our mobile phones. After a bit of googling, I found that there is actually a city called Cheongju and the ticket seller had sold us tickets to Cheongju instead of Jeonju!

With the language barrier and the fact that the bus is an express bus with no stops in between, we figured that we had no choice but to ride the bus all the way to Cheongju. It was a good thing Cheongju is actually located in between Seoul and Jeonju so we are heading in the right direction although there was a slight detour.

Fortunately, there was an Intercity bus from Cheongju to Jeonju leaving at 10.50 AM from the same bus terminal and we would be in time to catch this bus, if there is no further setback. 

The ride to Cheongju took slightly over 2 hours. The ride on the airport express bus was very comfortable. After the clamp conditions in the plane, the spacious seats with plenty of legroom to stretch out felt so good.

We arrived at the Cheongju Intercity Bus Terminal as scheduled. I was happy to see the clear blue sky and the rows of yellow gingko trees lining the streets in Cheongju. It looked like our timing was just about perfect for autumn leaves viewing. Like the year before, the weather in 2025 had been warmer than usual, so autumn has been delayed by a few weeks.

Rows of yellow gingko trees at Cheongju.  

We managed to book our tickets for the 10.50 AM Intercity bus to Jeonju at the Cheongju Intercity Bus Terminal. This time, I made sure we got the destination right.

Our intercity bus tickets from Cheongju to Jeonju.

Although the distance between Cheongju and Jeonju is only about 115 km, the ride to Jeonju took slightly over 2 hours as the bus is not an express bus and made a few stops at Daejeon city along the route. We finally arrived at the Jeonju Intercity Bus Terminal at about 1 PM. From there, we took a short 15 minutes taxi ride to the Jeonju Hanok Village.

Jeonju Hanok Village with 700 traditional hanoks.

Our accommodation in Jeonju Hanok Village was the Star Rest Guesthouse located in the southern edge of the village and just a few metres walk from the paved roads running through the village.

Overall, our journey from the airport to Jeonju by express bus which was supposed to take about 3.5 hours and cost about 33,000 KRW took 5 hours and cost us a bit more instead. It was not a good start to our holiday but thankfully, the rest of our stay in Korea went as planned.

Lesson learnt: Show the intended destination in Korean text AND English text to the train or bus ticket seller, instead of trying to speak the language.

Alternatively, use the ticket machines which have English language option.

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Our stay at a hanok in Jeonju Hanok Village

14 and 15 November 2025

Jeonju has the largest hanok village in Korea and we chose to stay 2 nights in Star Rest Hanok. It is a charming, traditional Korean guesthouse located on the southern edge of the famous Jeonju Hanok Village.

Cobbled stone alleyway outside Star Rest Hanok.

Entrance to Star Rest Hanok.

The hanok came with modern comforts like ondol (heated floors) and private bathrooms.

Typical entrance to our room in a hanok. A place to sit to remove our footwear before entering.

The family that owns the business does not stay at the guesthouse. I had contacted them via KakaoTalk (with Google Translate) the day before to inform them of our expected arrival time so the host would meet us at the guesthouse when we arrive. Due to our boo-boo when travelling to Jeonju from the airport, we arrived 2 hours later than expected. I had to inform them of our unplanned delay. Thankfully, he received our message and even replied with a “please not to rush and travel safe”.

The hanok is located on the edge of the hanok village so it was easy to access. The hanok owner was waiting for us inside the hanok. He was an elderly man who speaks a bit of English that is well enough for us to understand him.

During check-in, he gave us some tourist information on recommended sights within the hanok village and also within Jeonju city. He also suggested some famous Jeonju cuisine and places to eat.

It is traditional to sit on the heated floor inside a hanok instead of chairs and table. 

Chatting with the friendly hanok owner in the courtyard outside our room where he showed us some of his wooden carvings and calligraphy skills.

Entrance to our room. The wooden doors are secured using a simple padlock.

Calligraphy brushes.

He proudly told us he did the calligraphy displayed outside our room and demonstrated his calligraphy skills by writing his name in Chinese text 郑 with a large brush on a slab of stone on the ground. That was when we found out that his family name is the same as my wife's.

Carving by the owner with his name at the left lower edge.

Our room is fairly large and has an attached bathroom with WC and shower.

One downside of staying in a hanok is that there are no sofas and we had to sit and sleep on futons laid on the heated floor (ondol).

The owner showed us where the futons are kept and also explained how to set them up for our sleep at night.

Compared to thick mattresses found at home or in a standard hotel room, the futons were a bit hard to sleep on. For me, I was able to have a good night sleep on them.

Sitting and sleeping on the heated floor is part and parcel of the Korean floor-based living culture. Winter in Korea is very cold. In the old days, a small, wood-burning furnace (or stove) was typically located in an adjoining room, often the kitchen, and built at a lower level than the heated room. The hot air and smoke are channeled through horizontal flues beneath a thick masonry floor, which then radiated heat through the floor to the room. This ingeniously simple design provided efficient and long-lasting warmth to the floor of the house.

Today, the floor is heated using electricity with the temperature control mounted on the wall. The heated floor was quite effective in keeping the room warm. In fact, my wife found the floor a little too warm and we had to turn the heating down in the middle of the night.

The next morning, I made some hot drinks for breakfast using the self-service pantry in the common area. The pantry is well stock and has everything we need to make hot drinks for breakfast.

It is usual for the locals to sit on the verandah of a hanok for meals. Although the morning was a little chilly, it was a nice experience.

Hot coffee and PNB choco-pies for a light breakfast snack.

Enjoying the ambience of the hanok.

Main gate of the hanok right outside our room.              

Just when we were about to head out to explore the village, the owner showed up. I had a chat with him and enquired about the ease of getting a taxi from the hanok village in the morning. I told him that I planned to check out at 7 AM the next day, get a taxi to the Jeonju Express Bus terminal to catch the 8.10 AM bus to Gwangju.

He was keen to help us arrange for a taxi but told us he would not be able to come so early in the morning. Being the helpful person, he requested help from a gentleman sweeping the floor of the alleyway outside our hanok to help book taxi for us the next day.

This person is actually the owner of hanok next door. He told us he would meet us outside our hanok at 7.30 AM the next morning to help us call for a taxi. The ride to the bus terminal would take about 15 minutes and we should be in time to catch our bus.

With that arrangement done, we thanked the two men and went out to enjoy our day in the hanok village.

When we returned in the evening, we found a basket full of goodies in our room.

This was left in our room when we returned to our room at the end of Day 2. Perfect drinks and snacks for our breakfast before checking out early the next morning.

The next morning, we were ready to go by 7 AM. Our hanok is located near to the Jeonju stream. Since we were early, we went to the river side to snap some photos. 

Sunrise at Jeonju.

At 7.20 AM, the neighbour showed up. He helped call for a taxi using a mobile app on his phone. 10 minutes later, the taxi arrived. The kind gentleman even helped load our luggage into the taxi before bidding us goodbye. 

We made it to the express bus terminal as planned. Tickets for the buses can be booked in advance online but it would be challenging for tourists who do not have access to the local payment systems. Hence we had to book our tickets at the bus terminal on the day of travel.

We managed to book the last 2 tickets for the bus to Gwangju! We knew it was the last 2 tickets because we were seated in the last row of the bus. Lucky us.

Last 2 tickets on the 8.10 AM express bus from Jeonju to Gwangju.

We left Jeonju with warm feeling in our hearts. We had good experiences in our hanok stay. We had wonderful interactions with friendly people who provided local tips, warm hospitality and go out of their way to make our stay comfortable.

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Exploring Jeonju Hanok Village – Day 1

14 November 2025

On this relatively short trip to South Korea, I chose to include Jeonju in my itinerary. Jeonju has the largest hanok village in Korea and is deeply tied to Korea's Joseon Dynasty. Jeonju was the ancestral home of the Yi clan, the family of King Taejo (Yi Seong-gye), who founded the Joseon Dynasty, making it a significant place for the royal lineage. Many historical k-dramas featuring stories in the Joseon era were filmed in this city.

Jeonju is also a city with plenty of food tradition. Bibimbap, one of the most representative food of Korea, was born out of Jeonju and the region of Jeollado-province, where the city is located. Since we appreciate good food, we made it a point to research where are the places serving the best local cuisine.

While Jeonju could be visited as a day-trip from Seoul, we planned to stay a couple of days in a hanok located within Jeonju Hanok Village. We cannot come to Jeonju Hanok Village and not experience a stay in a traditional hanok.

Getting to Jeonju from the airport.

The distance between Incheon International Airport (ICN) and Jeonju city is about 242 km and we took the limousine bus from the airport to Jeonju. The trip should take slightly over 3 hours. Due to some miscommunication at the airport, we spend additional 2 hours of travel time. Read about our little boo-boo here.

We arrived at about 1 PM at the Jeonju Intercity Bus Terminal. From the bus terminal, it was easy to get a short 15 minutes taxi ride (cost 6,300 KRW) to our hanok.

Where we stayed in Jeonju

   

Entrance to the Starrest Hanok.

We chose to stay for 2 nights in Star Rest Hanok. It is a charming, traditional Korean guesthouse located on the southern edge of the famous Jeonju Hanok Village. More about our stay at Star Rest Hanok is in this separate post.

Lunch at Veteran Kalguksu (베테랑)

We had a late lunch at Veteran Kalguksu restaurant. This is a popular restaurant, operating since 1977, serving cheap and good food. It is known for its signature hot, savory knife-cut noodle soup with a rich, eggy broth, perilla seed, and seaweed.

Even though it was past the lunch hour, the restaurant was packed but we were offered a table immediately.

Their menu had hot kalguksu noodles (kalguksu), cold spicy noodles (Jjolmyeon) and dumplings (mandu) with either pork or kimchi fillings. We ordered the hot noodles and dumplings.

The noodles served here were chewy and al dente. The best thing I love was the savory broth with egg stirred in, topped with perilla seed powder, Korean chilli powder and roasted seaweed laver.

The menu includes half and half for the dumplings, so we got to try both. The dough used for the dumplings were nice and soft, and the fillings with pork and chopped vegetables were delicious.

This was perfect comfort food after a long journey by red-eye flight from Singapore and long bus rides from the airport.

 

Enjoy a walk through the hanok village and the autumn leaves!

       

Autumn is one of the best times to visit South Korea.

After lunch, we took a walk down the main street to the Gyeonggijeon Shrine. This place houses the portrait of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon dynasty. We planned to visit the shrine and the Portrait Museum on Day 2, so we just enjoyed views of the beautiful gingko trees outside the shrine and in the rest of the village.

Yellow leaves of the gingko trees outside the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

We were glad that we came at almost the right time to enjoy the peak of the autumn foliage.

Many shops offering rentals of traditional clothes.

Many visitors to Jeonju Hanok Village, both male and female, were dressed in traditional clothes and hanboks. The whole place looked like the set of a period k-drama. In fact, many k-dramas filmed within the hanok village.

Visitors dressed in colourful hanboks.

Omokdae and Imokdae

After a mini-photo shoot outside the Gyeonggijeon Shrine, we went to Omokdae for the overview of Jeonju Hanok Village. Omokdae is a historical site located on top of a steep hill but the walk up to the site was easy and pleasant.

Stone signage marking the entrance to Jeonju Hanok Village on the way to Omokdae.

Omokdae  is one of the places where Yi Seong-gye, who later became King Taejo, threw a party to celebrate his victory from a war against the Japanese army in 1380.

Pavilion at Omokdae.

Typical Korean architecture.

We had to take off our shoes before walking on the wooden floor of the pavilion.

The small hut houses the tablet with engraved writings of King Gojong, the second last emperor of the Joseon Dynasty.

Autumn foliage at the Omokdae.

Beside the beautiful pavilion and appreciating the historical significance of this site, visitors could also capture photographs of the roofs of the hanoks below.

Unfortunately, the vegetation was quite dense and I could not capture the entire hanok village.

There is a pedestrian bridge nearby that leads from Omokdae to the Imokdae Historic Site, situated at the edge of the Jaman Mural Village. We did not go to Imokdae, only viewing it from a distance.

Imokdae has another small hut housing a tablet with engraved writings of King Gojong, the second last emperor of the Joseon Dynasty.

Jaman Mural Village (자만벽화마을)

The Jaman Mural Village is a colorful village filled with murals along its walls. This is a residential area so we made it a point to speak softly and just enjoy the murals of nostalgic anime characters, celebrities, fairytale scenes, floral patterns, and creative local art.

The village is located on the side of a mountain so there are many narrow alleys that goes up and down within this village.

Entering from Omokdae meant we are entering the village from the top end which made our exploration a little easier since we are walking mostly downwards.

Here are some of the murals that we found interesting.

Spot the celebrities. 

A good place to stop for a break was at this beautifully decorated cafe, with an ET character inside.

Common rule in Korean cafe is that we have to buy at least one drink per person.

View from the terrace.

Initially we sat on a terrace outside to enjoy the views of the landscape. We could see trees with leaves turning red and orange and also a couple of trees with no leaves but laden with ripe, orange-coloured persimmons in the village.

Later on, we moved inside the cafe to enjoy the ambience of the beautifully decorated sitting area with lots of toys and paintings on the walls.

The cafe is located somewhat in the mid-level of the mural village. There are still plenty of murals to enjoy after our break.

Here are more murals that we saw on our way down to the “entrance” of the Jaman Mural Village.

Overall, Jaman Mural Village is a nice place to visit for photos and chilling at a cafe.

 

Hanbyeokgul Tunnel - filming location of k-drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One

The sun was beginning to set when we went to see the Hanbyeokgul Tunnel, located a short walk from the Jaman Mural Village. This tunnel gained fame as a filming location for the popular series "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" and since we are k-drama fans, this place is worth a visit.

Even for non k-drama fans, this tunnel is worth a visit. This historic horseshoe-shaped tunnel was actually built during the Japanese colonial period (1929-1931) as a railway tunnel and is located near to some scenic spots, Hanbyeokdang Pavilion and the Jeonju Natural Ecology Museum.

It was good we visited at dusk so the lights in the tunnel were turned on.

Recreating an iconic scene from the drama. The tunnel was a backdrop for heartfelt conversations between the main characters in the drama.

The tunnel is still actively in used, so we had to look out for vehicular traffic while taking our photos. The road to the tunnel is narrow, so the occasional cars that used the tunnel were all going at a slow speed. So, generally it was quite safe to set up our camera on a tripod for a photo.

The tunnel is located near the Jeonjucheon stream that flows on the south side of the hanok village.

Nice walk by the stream, except for some insects that came out at dusk.

Nice autumn foliage on trees by the stream.

Located just above the Hanbyeokgul Tunnel is the Hanbyeokdang Pavilion. Historically, it seems that this was a popular spot for Joseon Dynasty scholars to compose poetry, paint, and contemplate the landscape.

The Hanbyeokdang Pavilion offers nice views of the landscape.

We also found the house used by the main female lead in the "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" k-drama. Google Map location here. Address is 5-19 Omokdae-gil.

House used as the home of Na-Hee-do, the main female character in the k-drama.

My wife could remember the many times the female lead Na-Hee-do (played by actress Kim Tae-ri in this drama) ran up and down these steps.

Bibimbap Dinner at Hankook Jib

Our dinner was at Hankook Jib as recommended by the hanok owner. This restaurant was actually one of the restaurants I had shortlisted for eating the bibimbap.

Bibimbap is a Korean dish with rice and various toppings including different kinds of vegetables and sometimes raw beef (yukhoe) and raw egg yolk.

We tried the Jeonju bibimbap and yukhoe bibimbap.

Yukhoe Bibimbap with raw minced beef.

Jeonju Bibimbap.

Hankook Jib also serves us 6 side dishes or banchan.

Hot Korean red pepper paste (gochujang) is added to taste. All needs to be mixed well before eating.

They both looked and tasted quite similar after mixing, which indicates that the seasoning for the raw beef was not so strong.

Since we wanted to try the local cuisine, we also ordered the moju (literally “mother's wine”) which is a Jeonju makgeolli (rice wine) with medicinal herbs like jujube, ginger and cinnamon.

The moju was served in a large bowl.

The muddy coloured moju tasted sweet, with a slightly tangy taste from the ginger and cinnamon. It was easy to drink and had a very low alcohol level, typically 1.5% or less.

After dinner, the walk back to our hanok was quite chilly. We stopped by a PNB store to briefly escape the cold and buy their famous choco-pie. PNB is supposed to be the originator of this iconic Jeonju dessert.

Classic flavour choco-pie for our breakfast the next day.

There are many flavours to choose from. We bought the classic flavour to try. The staff told us the pies must be eaten within a few days, so we did not buy them as souvenirs to bring home.

We also got to see the Jeondong Cathedral all lit up at night.

Jeondong Cathedral is located near the entrance to the Jeonju Hanok Village. The cathedral is built on the site where martyrs were executed in the Joseon Dynasty. We will learn more about the history behind this western-looking building in the traditional Korean village the next day.

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