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As I was not travelling alone, making the travel itinerary can cause some compromises.

My dream trip to Korea would involve a temple stay, a hiking visit to Jeju island, and a work-exchange thing where one works on a traditional farm... But I understand that not everyone is up for the more… let’s call it alternative approach to vacation, so we decided to find a place inland with some creature comforts whilst still enjoying nature and culture.

And Jeonju is one such place - its name roughly translating to “the perfect region”, it is a tourist city that takes pride in the tradition and nature. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and parks giving it a more rural feel than either Busan or Seoul, and the tourist part was peppered with historical buildings and temples.

The exceedingly rural feel was enhanced by the fact that we stayed in a traditional hanok house (via AirBNB). The hosts did not speak a word of english, but we got on just fine through google translate and basic french. It was one of the better nights there, to be honest. I loved the look and feel of a hanok - it was just the right amount of confort and traditional feel, whilst still having a cafe closeby.

One of the many temples, aimed specifically towards tourists. As with many others in Korea, it was rebuilt after Japanese invasion.

The hosts in our Hanok were so happy that we’ve tried to communicate with them, that they prepared us what they say they have for breakfast most days. A light rice soup, with kimchi and other preserves, followed by the fresh fruit. Our hanok had everything necessary for a nice cuppa. If Google translate was correct, these were handmade in the family and they served tea to the guests from them for a long time.

Although small and traditional, our hanok was actually situated as a small garden amidst large and unattractive buildings.

Music seemed to be a big part of wherever we ended up. The local small local specialty coffee shop (Villain caffe, very much recommended) had a proper stereo, our hanok had a listening room (which I was too embarrassed to ask how to use, but saw they had a nice Leben CS600 and a pair of Klipsch’s) .

Although a city of about 800k people, a large portion of Jeonju strives to look traditional, and temples and religious monuments are carefully preserved and exhibited.

Mountains surround Jeonju and have been a centre of religious activity. Hikes here are highly recommended.

A view of Jeonju. Tourist and walkable part (what you will find on the travel guides) is in reality very small proportion of the entire town.

Mountains are often of religious significance. Apparently, here people found Mary in stone.

The real benefit of hikes here is just being surrounded by nature that morons feel the need to defile.