๐ฐ๐ท Jeonju is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju. The name Jeonju literally means "Perfect Region". It is an important tourist centre famous for Korean food, historic buildings, sports activities, and innovative festivals.
In May 2012, Jeonju was chosen as a Creative City for Gastronomy as part of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. This honour recognizes the city's traditional home cooking handed down over thousands of years, its active public and private food research, a system of nurturing talented chefs, and its hosting of distinctive food festivals.
History The Baekje kingdom was located in south-western Korea which included the area Jeonju is now located. It is believed that Jeonju was founded as a market town within Baekje around 57 BCE.
Jeonju (along with Baekje in general) was conquered by the kingdom of Silla in 660 CE. It soon became part of the Silla kingdom and in 685, Jeonju became one of the nine chu (a provincial capital of the kingdom). From 889 and onward, peasant revolts (caused from over taxation) became widespread throughout the kingdom and it also spread to Jeonju where it became the headquarters of one of the most powerful rebel leaders of the time, Gyeon Hwon. In 892 (or 900), Gyeon Hwon renamed the city Wansan and established it as the capital of the Later Baekje kingdom. From Wansan, Gyeon Hwon campaigned against Silla which climaxed with the destruction of Geumseong (the capital of the Silla kingdom) and the assassination of King Gyeongae in 927. With the decline of Silla, Gyeon Hwon and Wang Geon (of the Goryeo kingdom) waged battle for control of the peninsula. However, Wang Geon and his forces invaded Later Baekje in 934 and Jeonju surrendered to him in 935.
Under Goryeo rule, Jeonju reverted to being a provincial capital and enjoyed relative stability and economic growth. However, in 1182, the city was taken by peasant rebels with the aid of governmental troops stationed there who resented being forced to do heavy labor along slaves. The rebellion was soon suppressed forty days after it began.
The Joseon defeated Goryeo and founded a new dynasty in 1392 and took all their possessions including Jeonju. The Joseon considered Jeonju their ancestral home (an ancestor of Yi Seonggye of Joseon may have fled Jeonju after the 1182 peasant revolt). During the Joseon period, Jeonju became the capital of a reorganized Jeolla (one of the eight provinces of the Joseon). In 1413, Jeonju (along with three other cities) was given the honor of safekeeping copies of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty which still survives extant in the former Confucian academy in Jeonju.
The town was occupied by the Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894. Jeonju (like the rest of Korea) was then occupied by the Japanese beginning in 1910. The ancient walls of the old city were destroyed by the Japanese authorities with the Pungnammum Gate being the only remnant left today. Jeonju's population grew between 1925 and 1949 when it reached 100,000 inhabitants. Jeonju was given metropolitan status in 1935, and the city was founded in 1949. During the Division of Korea, Jeonju was not in the immediate frontline of the war but by the armistice signing in July 1953, Jeonju (along with many other cities) suffered bombardment and the loss of many male residents who fought during the war.
Jeonju was given its modern boundaries and government system in 1963. It has since then industrialised rapidly. Since the Joseon Dynasty period, it was a metropolis, but it did not experience industrialization in the 20th century compared to other parts of Korea. It does not have the industrial infrastructure, manufacturing, or heavy industries found in other major Korean cities. Today, traditional tourism and sightseeing is a major industry in the city.
Culture โข Jeonju bibimbap ์ ์ฃผ๋น๋น๋ฐฅ, a traditional local food, is well known across South Korea. There are several very popular vegetarian restaurants serving Jeonju style food and pine wine. โข The National Jeonju Museum exhibits ancient relics from the Baekje days. โข There are extensive royal museums, temples, a castle fortress on a hillside, and a well-known paper museum, as well as an annual paper fashion show highlighting the latest styles and traditional Korean clothing made of paper. โข The Jeonju Hanok Village (Hanok Maeul) is a traditional-style village in the heart of Jeonju, housing over 800 traditional "hanok" style buildings. It contains many traditional tea shops, souvenir shops, and restaurants. โข Jeongdong Catholic Church was built on 1908โ1914 by French priest Xavier Baudonet on the site of the Korean Catholic martyrs in 1791 and 1801. This Byzantine and Romanesque church has been designated Korea National Treasure No. 288. โข The Jeonju International Sori Festival was among Songlines' 25 Best International Festivals in 2014. โข The Jeonju International Film Festival draws about 50,000 visitors annually. โข Jeonju is the hometown of the breakdancing crew Last for One, international Battle of the Year champions. โข Gyeonggijeon is a place to enshirine the portrait of Lee Sunggye called the first king of the Chosun dynasty.
The local mountains and parks are popular for outdoor recreation due to its rural location. There are historical sites in the area. The city has a zoo, a park, and the Hanguk Sound and Culture Hall, a large, modern concert complex on the Jeonbuk National University campus.
Administrative districts Jeonju is divided into two wards, Deokjin-gu (๋์ง๊ตฌ) and Wansan-gu (์์ฐ๊ตฌ) that, in turn, are divided into approximately 40 neighborhoods.
Transport Many city buses and taxis are available in Jeonju. However, tourists are often advised to walk between points of interest, as many attractions are near each other.
Attractions โข Jeonju International Film Festival usually runs from the end of April to May for one week annually.
Sport Jeonju hosts K League team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC. The team's home ground is the Jeonju World Cup Stadium. Jeonju also hosts a semi-professional football team, Jeonju Citizen FC, which plays in the K4 League. Their home ground is the Jeonju Sports Complex Stadium. In addition, Jeonju also hosts Jeonju KCC Egis, a professional basketball team which competes in the Korean Basketball League.
Jeonju has a population of over 652,400 people. Jeonju also forms the centre of the wider North Jeolla Province which has a population of over 1,869,711 people.
To set up a UBI Lab for Jeonju see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork
Jeonju is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Jeonju has links with:
๐น๐ท Antalya, Turkey ๐บ๐ธ Carson, USA ๐ฎ๐ฉ Cirebon, Indonesia ๐ฎ๐น Florence, Italy ๐ฏ๐ต Kanazawa, Japan ๐ฐ๐ท Mokpo, South Korea ๐บ๐ธ San Diego, USA ๐จ๐ณ Suzhou, ChinaJeonju is a member of the Cittaslow Network with: ๐ท๐บ Svetlogorsk ๐ฎ๐น Chiavenna ๐ฉ๐ช Bischofsheim ๐ณ๐ฑ Borger-Odoorn ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Aylsham ๐ฎ๐น Pellegrino Parmense ๐ฎ๐ธ Djรบpivogur ๐ฉ๐ฐ Svendborg ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Berwick-upon-Tweed ๐จ๐พ Mehmetรงik ๐ช๐ธ Pals ๐ฎ๐น Anghiari ๐ต๐ฑ Prudnik ๐ช๐ธ Begur ๐ฎ๐น Cittร della Pieve ๐ฎ๐น Pianella ๐ง๐ช Chaudfontaine ๐ซ๐ท Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val ๐ฎ๐น Fontanellato ๐จ๐ณ Shimenshan
UNESCO Creative Cities for Gastronomy include: ๐น๐ท Afyonkarasihar ๐ฎ๐น Alba ๐ต๐ช Arequipa ๐ฐ๐ญ Battambang ๐ง๐ท Belรฉm ๐ง๐ท Belo Horizonte ๐ฆ๐บ Bendigo ๐ฎ๐น Bergamo ๐ณ๐ด Bergen ๐จ๐ด Buenaventura ๐ช๐ธ Burgos ๐จ๐ณ Chaozhou ๐จ๐ณ Chengdu ๐ง๐ด Cochabamba ๐ช๐ธ Dรฉnia ๐ฒ๐ฝ Ensenada ๐ง๐ท Florianรณpolis ๐จ๐ญ Fribourg ๐ฐ๐ท Gangneung ๐น๐ท Gaziantep ๐น๐ท Hatay ๐ฌ๐ท Heraklion ๐ฟ๐ฆ Hermanus ๐ฎ๐ณ Hyderabad ๐ต๐ญ Iloilo City ๐ฐ๐ท Jeonju ๐ฒ๐ด Macao ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mรฉrida ๐จ๐ฒ Nkongsamba ๐ธ๐ช รstersund ๐ฟ๐ฆ Overstrand Hermanus ๐ต๐ฆ Panama City ๐ง๐ท Paraty ๐ฎ๐น Parma ๐น๐ญ Phuket ๐จ๐ด Popayรกn ๐ช๐จ Portoviejo ๐ฎ๐ท Rasht ๐บ๐ธ San Antonio ๐จ๐ณ Shunde ๐ฏ๐ต Tsuruoka ๐บ๐ธ Tucson ๐จ๐ณ Yangzhou ๐ฑ๐ง Zahlรฉ
๐บ๐ธ Murfreesboro 35.846
๐ฐ๐ท Pocheon-si 127.2
Locations Near: Jeonju 127.144,35.827
๐ฐ๐ท Wanju 127.254,35.891 d: 12.2
๐ฐ๐ท Iksan 126.957,35.948 d: 21.6
๐ฐ๐ท Gimje 126.883,35.8 d: 23.7
๐ฐ๐ท Nonsan 127.099,36.187 d: 40.2
๐ฐ๐ท Jeongeup 126.847,35.57 d: 39.2
๐ฐ๐ท Buan 126.732,35.728 d: 38.8
๐ฐ๐ท Gunsan 126.718,35.979 d: 41.9
๐ฐ๐ท Namwon 127.376,35.379 d: 54.1
Antipodal to: Jeonju -52.856,-35.827
๐บ๐พ Maldonado -54.95,-34.9 d: 19799
๐บ๐พ Montevideo -56.198,-34.907 d: 19695.2
๐บ๐พ Canelones -56.284,-34.538 d: 19672.2
๐ง๐ท Rio Grande -52.099,-32.041 d: 19588.4
๐ง๐ท Pelotas -52.341,-31.763 d: 19560.7
๐บ๐พ Durazno -56.517,-33.367 d: 19582.6
๐ง๐ท Bagรฉ -54.107,-31.328 d: 19501.6
๐ฆ๐ท Berisso -57.886,-34.873 d: 19546.8
๐บ๐พ Tacuarembรณ -55.983,-31.733 d: 19476
๐บ๐พ Colonia del Sacramento -57.833,-34.467 d: 19538