We planned a relaxing trip at the Jeonju hanok village for Valentine’s weekend.
We headed out quite late in the afternoon and had to wait at USquare for an hour after booking our ticket. We only arrived in Jeonju at about 5pm, which was quite good timing because we got to see the beautiful sunset and walk around looking at all the pretty lights at night. We didn’t know what to expect but Jeonju had a really trendy vibe. It was packed full of trendy young Korean couples, and cute quirky cafes located in old (and new) hanok buildings. We were really loving the vibe and just walked around exploring all the little alleyways with interesting art and craft stores. We ate delicious meaty kebabs, found some sweet sesame Korean treats and eventually queud up for dinner at a Ddeok Galbi restaurant, where we ate outside on a raised platform with heated mats to sit on 🙂
Sunset
Main road in the village, lots of people
Pretty alley ways
Cool craft shops
Trendy cafes and restaurants – traditional and Italian etc…
Traditional Ddeok Galbi (mix of beef and pork) restaurant with lots of sides
We stayed at Daddle Hanok, which I booked on Agoda a few weeks before. The hanok was small but nicely decorated and very cosy with the continuous ondol (underfloor heating). I loved the beautiful hanji paper doors, especially with the morning light coming through. It’s also surprisingly good at insulating. We didn’t sleep very well because we were a bit too hot and dry (no humidifier!) and the traditional sleeping pads and pillows were quite uncomfortable for us skinny bony people!
Laneway entrance to our hanok
Outside the lane way
Inside: traditional plus all the mod cons, including super-fast wifi
Pretty details
Morning light coming through the hanji paper doors
We woke up at 8 the next morning and walked around the village for another few hours. It was a little less busy and had a nice calm vibe. I became obsessed with buying a hanji paper lamp and went to various stores to check prices, but eventually decided not to buy one because the bases seemed a bit tacky (they’re made completely from the traditional paper, but the lacquer makes them look a bit too plastic-y). We attempted to find something for breakfast but there were too many options! We eventually stopped when we saw a cute cafe with a sign for churros! (very traditional haha).
View of some of the hanoks
Hanji fan workshop
We regretfully left the village and got on a bus for Jinan and the Red Ginseng Spa. The spa started out quite awkwardly (korean assistants waiting for us in the changing rooms – the very naked changing rooms – making sure we weren’t putting the wrong things in the multiple lockers, or exiting out the wrong doors). Eventually we made it out and into the “therapy” area. The big indoor area had several large therapy rooms surrounding a main hot pool with nice big massage jets. All the pools/therapies etc… were faintly infused with Ginseng, which is meant to be very healthy. We tried the floating therapy, wind therapy (hot air), sauna, harmony therapy (ginseng face mud and peppermint oils in a hot room, with hot water coming from the ceiling after 10 mins), bubble therapy (the softest, nicest smelling bubbles, coming up to your chin), aroma therapy (single “bath” filled with ginseng water) and hot stone therapy (lying on a bed of massaging hot stones – my favourite along with the bubble therapy). Probably my favourite spa was outdoors, in the cool winter air, overlooking the strange Maisan “horse ear” mountain. It was very relaxing until some heavily tattooed mafia members came along, and the girl with them stole my towel! It was quite awkward asking for it back, and we kept bumping into them inside!
Maisan “horse ear” mountain
Overall it was a very relaxing weekend and we will definitely go back to Jeonju to try more trendy cafes, traditional food and buy some traditional souvenirs.
Travel details for anyone interested in visiting Jeonju:
Bus tickets from USquare in Gwangju: 9600 won (about $10).
Bus duration: about 1.5 hours. Frequency – approx 40 mins to 1 hour
Take bus number 79, from the stop down the street from the terminal. Cost: 1200 won? Get off at the Jeondong Cathedral Stop. Cross the road, walk past the cathedral and you will see the entrance to the hanok village.
Stay: book online, through the tourist information centre, or find a place when you arrive (best to arrive early). There are a lot of hanok-stays but you will probably find the best prices online (though not many choices).
If you want to go the Ginseng spa, head back to the Jeonju intercity terminal (most of the buses go to the intercity terminal, down the road from the terminal you will arrive at), and book a ticket to Jinan. (approx 4500 won).
From Jinan terminal, cross the road and take a taxi to the Ginseng Spa (Heungsam Spa). This is a big tourist spot so the driver will know where to go even if you just say spa 🙂
Getting back: wait for a taxi on the main road, or get the spa to call a taxi for you. Ask for the bus terminal.
From the bus terminal buy a ticket back to Jeonju.
Once at the Jeonju Intercity Terminal, you will need to go around the corner and down the road 5 mins to get back to the Express Bus terminal.
Book a ticket back to Gwangju. Be prepared to wait a while, especially if its a weekend.
Google maps helps infinitely!
Carly In Korea 