Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Honam, South Korea

History | Culture | Administrative districts | Transport | Attractions | Sport

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท 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 โ€ข Jeonju bibimbap ์ „์ฃผ๋น„๋น”๋ฐฅ, a traditional local food, is well known across South Korea. There are several very popular vegetarian restaurants serving Jeonju style food and pine wine. โ€ข The National Jeonju Museum exhibits ancient relics from the Baekje days. โ€ข 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. โ€ข 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. โ€ข Jeongdong Catholic Church was built on 1908โ€“1914 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. โ€ข The Jeonju International Sori Festival was among Songlines' 25 Best International Festivals in 2014. โ€ข The Jeonju International Film Festival draws about 50,000 visitors annually. โ€ข Jeonju is the hometown of the breakdancing crew Last for One, international Battle of the Year champions. โ€ข 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 (๋•์ง„๊ตฌ) 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 โ€ข 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, North Jeolla Province, Honam, South Korea 
<b>Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Honam, South Korea</b>
Image: Adobe Stock photo_HYANG #239147688

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:

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Antalya, Turkey ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Carson, USA ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Cirebon, Indonesia ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Florence, Italy ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Kanazawa, Japan ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Mokpo, South Korea ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ San Diego, USA ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Suzhou, China
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Jeonju is a member of the Cittaslow Network with: ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Svetlogorsk ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Chiavenna ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Bischofsheim ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Borger-Odoorn ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Aylsham ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Pellegrino Parmense ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Djรบpivogur ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Svendborg ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Berwick-upon-Tweed ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Mehmetรงik ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Pals ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Anghiari ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Prudnik ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Begur ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Cittร  della Pieve ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Pianella ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Chaudfontaine ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Fontanellato ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Shimenshan

UNESCO Creative Cities for Gastronomy include: ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Afyonkarasihar ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Alba ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Arequipa ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Battambang ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Belรฉm ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Belo Horizonte ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Bendigo ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Bergamo ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Bergen ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Buenaventura ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Burgos ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Chaozhou ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Chengdu ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Cochabamba ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Dรฉnia ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Ensenada ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Florianรณpolis ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Fribourg ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Gangneung ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Gaziantep ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Hatay ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Heraklion ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Hermanus ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Hyderabad ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Iloilo City ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Jeonju ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ด Macao ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mรฉrida ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Nkongsamba ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช ร–stersund ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Overstrand Hermanus ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ Panama City ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Paraty ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Parma ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Phuket ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Popayรกn ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Portoviejo ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Rasht ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ San Antonio ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Shunde ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Tsuruoka ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Tucson ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Yangzhou ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Zahlรฉ

Antipodal to Jeonju is: -52.856,-35.827

Locations Near: Jeonju 127.144,35.827

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Wanju 127.254,35.891 d: 12.2  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Iksan 126.957,35.948 d: 21.6  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Gimje 126.883,35.8 d: 23.7  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Nonsan 127.099,36.187 d: 40.2  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Jeongeup 126.847,35.57 d: 39.2  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Buan 126.732,35.728 d: 38.8  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Gunsan 126.718,35.979 d: 41.9  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Namwon 127.376,35.379 d: 54.1  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Buyeo 126.94,36.3 d: 55.7  

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Seocheon 126.691,36.08 d: 49.6  

Antipodal to: Jeonju -52.856,-35.827

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Maldonado -54.95,-34.9 d: 19799  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Montevideo -56.198,-34.907 d: 19695.2  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Canelones -56.284,-34.538 d: 19672.2  

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Rio Grande -52.099,-32.041 d: 19588.4  

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Pelotas -52.341,-31.763 d: 19560.7  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Durazno -56.517,-33.367 d: 19582.6  

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Bagรฉ -54.107,-31.328 d: 19501.6  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Berisso -57.886,-34.873 d: 19546.8  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Tacuarembรณ -55.983,-31.733 d: 19476  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Colonia del Sacramento -57.833,-34.467 d: 19538  

Bing Map

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