Jeonju: A quick getaway

It started as a trip to a more traditional side of Korea, but well, it wasn’t just that.

We’ve been going to Korea for Christmas for the past few years and this time we wanted to take a short trip with everyone. And since flying just didn’t make sense near Christmas, we took the train to Jeonju, a city in North Jeolla Province.

I’ve never been to the city, but it’s a very tradition and historical one. It was where the founders of the Joseon Dynasty were from and is famous for traditional home cooking, in other words, the food. The home of the bibimbap, Jeonju boasts loads of interesting and unique dishes, and of course, we tried (to try) them all.

But of course, the main “attraction” is the Hanok village. We spent most of our time wandering the streets of this village.

Even after witnessing the some 800 hanok style buildings at the actual site, I can’t help but to think this “hanok as a tourist attraction” has gone wrong. It’s a village, but it’s really like a theme park: food stalls within the buildings, all the hanoks are basically either restaurants, shops or cafes, and you can’t really feel any serenity, calmness or balance anywhere, let alone admire them. It’s a tricky thing to do, and even impossible to do well, but there has to be something better than selling pork chops and octopus on a stick in these buildings and calling it traditional.

So the street food. I would say go for it. There are tons of food, from grilled octopus on sticks, rice cakes and other very unique inventions I’ve never seen, and it doesn’t make any sense to recommend anything in this regard because you’ll just know what you want to try. I would probably say stick with a place that has a long line. But unlike places like Myeongdong where you can basically have a full meal with street food, I will say that this isn’t the place to do just that. More like a snack between meals.

The rice wine. This is called Moju and it’s basically the traditional and better known makgeolli mixed with herbs. An earthier, more herbal taste.

This is the Jeondong Cathedral, a beautiful church built around 1908 under the supervision of a French priest. Many Christians were martyred at the time and it still remains an important part of history in Korea and obviously, in Jeonju.

So now to the eat-whatever-you-want-on-the-street to the absolutely necessaries. Sun-dae (pronounced “soondae”) is like a blood sausage, only that it contains much more blood and meat, rice and vegetables. I’m a big fan, I’ve been eating them since I was young, but G cannot even take one bite. In Jeonju, or inside the Jeonju Market to be precise, there’s a restaurant called Jo Jeomnae Pisundae, which literally means Jo Jeomnaye’s Blood Sundae. It’s “blood blood sausage”, they had to use blood twice, it’s that intense. But they do have the most glorious Sundae ever. The only catch is that they only sell Sundae and so if you’re not really into them, like G, you’ll have to eat a different meal elsewhere, like G. The noodle shop right across was really good, just fyi.

I read and saved a lot of street food shops and stalls but to be very honest, there weren’t so many that I would really recommend. But this one, the Gyodong Croquette was amazing. There’s a pizza in a baguette place right next to it which was also highlighted here and there, but don’t bother. Nothing special there. The croquettes, on the other hand, delicious. The owner isn’t the most friendliest person in the world, but that’s fine, because the food is good. They have a lot of variations, but our favorite was the classic bibimbap croquet. Spicy and warm in the inside but crunchy and chewy on the outside. Heaven.

We were in Jeonju for Christmas, so I had a very heavy responsibility on handling the food and restaurant selection. After reading countless blog posts, instagram photos and websites, I decided to wing it just a little bit and choose a more unknown, non-touristy place. It was a bit of a gamble because there are so many well known bibimbap places around the area, but I wanted something more than just bibimbap. I made reservations at a place called Keungama and I have to say, it was great. Not only did they have incredible bibimbap, but they also had bulgogi and seafood stews, which went amazingly well with the bibimbap. And all the side dishes. Delicious.

One exhausted baby normally means a very good day. And it was indeed a treat.

• 교동 고로케 Gyodong Croquette: North Jeolla Province, Jeonju-si Wansan-gu Kyeonggijeon-gil 126 (전북 전주시 완산구 경기전길 126)
• 큰가마 Keungama: North Jeolla Province, Jeonju-si Wansan-gu, Seo Nosongdong 568-106 (전북 전주시 완산구 서노송동 568-106)

All photos by rachelsanghee. December, 2018.