*Editors’ Note: This is part of AJP’s photo essay series exploring railway journeys across South Korea in search of local food and regional culture. This installment travels to Jeonju during the Jeonju International Film Festival, where cinema, traditional streets and local cuisine came together beneath the spring sky.
Held from April 29 to May 8, the festival filled the streets around Jeonju Film Street and the Gaeksa district with visitors carrying tickets and festival badges as they moved between screenings. Local restaurants and cafes welcomed festivalgoers with special discounts, while announcements for upcoming films echoed through the busy streets alongside the steady footsteps of audiences heading toward their next screenings.
About two hours from Seoul by train, Jeonju revealed itself not only as a city of film, but also as a place where traces of tradition remain woven into everyday life.
Beneath clear spring skies, the tiled rooftops of Jeonju Hanok Village stretched across the cityscape. Small workshops, cafes and souvenir shops lined the narrow alleyways beneath traditional hanok eaves, while stone walls and wooden storefronts gave the village a slower rhythm distinct from the busy festival streets nearby.
Foreign visitors blended naturally into the scenery. Travelers dressed in hanbok paused to take photographs along the alleys, while others browsed shops selling handmade crafts and local souvenirs. English, Japanese and Chinese voices drifted through the streets as banners for the film festival hung between rows of traditional rooftops, quietly merging contemporary culture with the city’s historic atmosphere.
Jeonju also revealed itself through food. Restaurants near Nambu Market filled with visitors searching for local specialties including Kongnamul-gukbap and blood sausage soup. Served in the traditional “toryeom” style — where hot broth is repeatedly poured over rice and bean sprouts — kongnamul-gukbap offered a warm and comforting meal after hours spent walking between theaters and alleyways.
Mul-jjajang, prepared with seafood and vegetables in a thick red sauce, presented a distinctly different style from the more familiar black bean noodles commonly found elsewhere in Korea. The dish, known for its spicy and savory flavor, reflected another layer of Jeonju’s local food culture.
Visitors also sampled Moju, a sweet local drink simmered with herbs, alongside blood sausage filled with seasoned pork blood, reflecting Jeonju’s long-standing culinary traditions.
People may arrive in Jeonju for cinema, but what often remains afterward are the quiet landscapes beyond the screen — the alleys, rooftops and meals remembered slowly, one step at a time.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
