Western Korea – Hanoks, Hamboks, Bibimbap and Bamboo

Going south from Seoul will take you along a varied route of fun sights, beautiful culture and fresh nature. We took the inland route for hotsprings, hanoks, hanboks and green tea.

Heading first to Jeonju, make sure you pit stop mid way stop in Daejeon to rest your weary feet at one of the many public foot spas.

The friendly locals will quickly orientate you on the etiquette and may even reward you with a traditional cookie if it looks like you need feeding.

Jeonju Hanok Village

Arriving at Jeonju you will find it the picture perfect Hanok village…completely for tourists but wonderful nevertheless.

A maze of cobbled alleys to explore, and at the end of the day when all the day trippers go home you’ll have it pretty much to yourself.

We stayed at the Genauche hanok right in the heart of the village and yet calm and peaceful,

a super friendly host who bought us a box full of PNB cookies (a local speciality) when the boiler to our room broke down one night.

Your belly will never go empty in here (or anywhere in South Korea). Try the local bibimbap (Jeonju is the home of this rice dish) at Hancookjip is the perfect place to try it.

Also make sure you go for a typical makgeoli dinner at Chunnyunnuri Bom Makgeoli where you’ll get your own litre kettle

together with a multitude of dishes to eat…

including silk worm larvae for the brave and bold.

Once you have satisfied your hunger don’t forget to explore this wonderful little village. Orientate yourself on your first night with a wander around these atmospherically-lit ancient streets,

around the palace and to the picturesque Pungnam Gate.

Just by the gate is the Nambu market, coulourful and full of flavours.

One of the highlights of this village is to get dressed up like a local and take a tour of the village. Hanbok rental is just 5k won per hour, your hanok will normally get you a discount, and spend a few hours wandering the streets,

Making new friends

And generally being a total tourist.

A visit to the Joseon palace whilst dressed up is a must

Plus back to the Pungnam Gate for some traditional jump shots.

With hanboks done, head up the hill to the Omokdae Imokdae temple for wooded views across the village.

And continue across the road to the Jaman cultural village (having started as a shanty town but it is now a colourful mural-filled corner of Jeonju) that gives a welcome respite from all the Joseon tourism across the road.

If you really want to get some exercise then head further out along the main road and up into the hills to the Martyrs’ Mountain for sunset views and holy rocks.

Damyang Bamboo Forest

Moving on, we made a pit stop at Damyang and its bamboo forest.

Well worth a visit, as unlike Arashiyama in Japan where you just get one road, here it is a whole forest to explore and picture for a few hours.

Reward yourself with all this exploration with some noodles by the river just outside the forest park.

Boseong Green Tea

With us dropping down into the Boseon green tea region, we stayed at a lovely place for the night at Yongwook Lee’s in the tiny hamlet of Deungnyang-myeon.

This monument hanok has loads of space and you’ll feel a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

But you will also be miles from a restaurant, so be prepared to drive to the local village for dinner…but with our hosts guidance you’ll find some great bbq of pork fed on green tea leaves.