Galleries:
Our last stop on the tour of South Korea was Jeonju, a city 3hrs north west (240km) of Busan by bus. Jeonju is the capital of North Jeolla Province in southwestern South Korea, with a population of approximately 625,000 people. It traces its roots back over 1,300 years to the Baekje kingdom (18 BCE – 660 CE), one of 3 kingdoms in Korea at the time, alongside the Silla kingdom which we encountered in Gyeongju. It is also historically renowned as the spiritual birthplace and ancestral home of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910.
The city's main attractions centre on its rich cultural heritage and traditional architecture. The main attraction by a long way is the Jeonju Hanok Village, which preserves more than 700 to 800 traditional Korean hanok houses featuring curved tiled roofs and quiet courtyards. Key sites within and around the historic area include Gyeonggijeon Shrine, the Jeondong Catholic Cathedral (where no photographs were allowed inside), and the local Confucian school (Jeonjuhyanggyo). We stayed on the outskirts of the village in a traditional homestay with a delightful hostess who uses the building as her art studio.
Within the village are many traditional Korean restaurants, craft and art shops and indeed fortune tellers. As in several other traditional places on our tour, many local people hire traditional hanbok costume often turning their visits into formal or informal photo shoots.
Alongside the village and through the city runs the Jeonju river, almost all of it within the city boundaries (30km) with walking or cycling paths. Adjacent to the main Hanok village was a small Arts village featuring painters, sculptors, craft shops and the occasional photographer. These were the main sights and 2 days was sufficient to cover it.