9 Best Places to Go Shopping in Jeonju

The night market of Nambu Traditional Market opens at 6 pm every Friday and Saturday on the first floor of the market. Located between Hanok Village and Paldal-ro, the place is so popular that there is even a saying, “Go to Hanok Village during the day and visit the night market of Nambu Traditional Market after sunset.” To welcome tourists who come to enjoy the abundance of things to see and eat, the market has been extended to 220 metres and increased the number of stores to 45.

Some of the most popular foods at the market include bibimbap, pisundae, Ajimson Bul Gopchang Galbi (spicy grilled small intestines and galbi), pork belly gimbap, and chicken wing fried rice. Simya Banjeom’s sweet and sour pork and cream shrimp as well as Chonggangne Chobap that serves beef fire sushi also grab the appetites of tourists. Traditional Vietnamese and Lao foods and Tanghulu candies with sugar and fruit scents are widely loved as well. Here, you can try both local and international foods at affordable prices. After enjoying various foods, take part in fun events such as a singing contest, DJing, concert and auction.

Lotte Department Store Jeonju is the largest department store and cultural space in Jeonju. Jeonju is widely known as a city of culture and tourism but Lotte is the only large department store in the city. The facility features a movie theatre and a venue for various cultural and arts performances and exhibits. As it offers both shopping and cultural experiences, it is a popular attraction amongst Jeonju locals.

As a high-end department store, Lotte Department Store is full of the latest products from famous brands, and also sells many casual products that young people frequently shop for. Bargain sale events that offer exceptional discounts are often held so, if you take a good look at the schedule, you may be lucky enough to acquire a nice product at a very low price. Many tourists stop by the department store before or after visiting nearby Jeonju Hanok Village.

Jeonju Crafts Exhibition Hall, located inside Jeonju Hanok Village, is a crafts exhibition that reopened in 2018 to support the creative activities of artists who lead the crafts culture of Jeonju. It can be said to be an offline crafts culture platform that finds and sells excellent craftwork and, also, supports distribution and marketing. Here, you can come face to face with a variety of craftwork from traditional handicraft of intangible cultural assets to innovative and practical works of new, up-and-coming artists. You can also make handicraft items such as hanji, mother-of-pearl and fans on your own at the experience hall.

The sales hall, which is divided into Planned Hall, Damda Hall, Mahjong Hall and Sallim Hall based on different themes, exhibits and sells over 780 works of 166 craft artists. At the Kkureomi Product exhibit put together by the Byeolbyeol Experience Group, formed by around 30 artists who have their own workshops, check out various artworks including paper dolls, hanji crafts, embroidery, knots, fans and leather crafts. If you see a work you like, you may even purchase it at an affordable price.

Located in Pungnam-dong, Jeonju, Jeonju Hanok Village is the largest traditional Hanok Village in Korea with some 700 hanoks creating quite a spectacle in the centre of the city. Because it has so many traditional houses and important cultural assets, the area is designated as a preservation district and, thus, can be said to be a collection of history and culture. You will find Cheongyeollu Pavilion and Namcheongyo Bridge at the entrance of the village. Some of the most notable attractions in the village include Omokdae Historic Site where King Taejo Yi Seong-gye held a feast after defeating Japanese invaders, and Gyeonggijeon Shrine, which enshrines the royal portrait of King Taejo. Jeondong Cathedral, a sacred place of Catholicism, and the Hyanggyo, which is famous as the filming location of Hallyu movies, are widely loved by many tourists as well.

Recently, the hanbok experience is gaining much popularity, giving people a chance to wear hanbok and walk around the village to take pictures. There is also a hanbok fashion show held throughout the village that features everything from daily hanboks, which captivate the taste of young people, to the waves of couple hanboks. There are more than 20 hanbok rental shops with inexpensive rental fees. And don’t miss out on the good food, such as bibimbap, Jeonju-style kongnamul gukbap (bean sprout and rice soup), saeu mandu (shrimp dumplings), mayak yukjeon (beef pancakes) and munkkochi (skewered octopus).

NC Wave Jeonju Gaeksa branch is a fashion and dining shopping mall located on Jeonjugaeksa-ro. It is the second mall geared towards young people opened by E-Land Retail, and consists of two buildings with four ground floors and one basement level. There are 80 brands that reflect the shopping trends of the 20s and 30s, and more than half of them are SPA brands and select shops.

On the first floor of the shopping mall’s A Wing, Shoopen, the first shoe SPA brand in Korea; Kangol, a hat and bag brand; and accessories and cosmetics stores are in operation. Look around the second floor that features many women’s clothing and young casual brands, and then enjoy Italian pizza at the pizza mall or fresh and diverse Japanese cuisine at the sushi buffet on the third floor. At the select shops on the first floor and stores on the second floor of B Wing, you can purchase products of famous brands such as Spao and Polham as well as young casual clothes, innerwear and accessories at reasonable prices. If you are looking for a bookstore, visit the Kyobo Book Centre on the underground level.

Hanboknam, which is a hanbok rental shop, runs two stores in Hanok Village, the first one on Eojin-gil and the second one, the Jeonju Hanok Village Branch, on Eunhaeng-ro. Hanboknam, which means “a man who dresses you in hanbok,” began to spread the beauty of hanbok by planning Hanbok Day in 2012 and, as a result, was selected as a creative tourism company by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The rental shop has countless hanboks ranging from traditional hanboks, themed hanboks, fusion hanboks and modernised hanboks to pastel-toned hanboks with pure and clear image and strong primary-coloured hanboks with fancy embroidery. You can try two hanboks before choosing the one you like, and also receive hair styling including updo, lock and half-up styles for free. The shop also offers various accessories such as daenggi, binyeo, hats, shoes, handbags and other hanbok items according to the various different concepts. Rent a beautiful hanbok at an affordable price and visit cool photo zones throughout Hanok Village to make cute memories.

Located at the end of Eunhaeng-ro near Namcheongyo Bridge in stylish Hanok Village, Oe Halmeoni Somssi is a famous dessert cafe whose signature menu is Shaved Ice with Black Sesame, which features black sesame powder served on top of boiled red beans handmade every morning with Korean red beans. Every customer who tastes the shaved ice, which is made with ice that has been frozen for three days at -45 degrees Celsius, praises its clean and pleasant flavours. Another sought-after menu is the cold ssanghwatang, which follows the secret recipe of the house by infusing white woodland peony, rehmannia glutinosa, milk vetch roots, dong quai, cnidium officinale, cinnamon and licorice roots with jujube, pine nuts and walnuts floating on the tea. The city of Jeonju has chosen Oe Halmeoni Somssi as a UNESCO Creative Restaurant, having acknowledged the tastes and value of shaved ice with black sesame and ssanghwatang.

With the goal of continuing the establishment for a century, Oe Halmeoni Somssi has rejected all proposals of turning it into a franchise and steadfastly pursues great quality and taste starting with the ingredients. Hongsi Bosungi, which only uses ripe persimmon from Cheongdo, and Oesom Yaksikhye made of seven medicinal herbs from Gimje are must-try items as well.

Yongjin Nonghyup Local Food Direct Store is one of the best-selling stores operated by Nonghyup in Jeollabuk-do. It is difficult to make profits from local foods considering the nature of the business of farming and selling small scales of produce primarily to local residents. In fact, nearly all of the direct stores run by Nonghyup in the province are recording losses but Yongjin Nonghyup Local Food Direct Store is the only one that makes profits.

Such a successful operation has been possible because of the endless efforts of the workers who studied the demands and interests of customers who visit the store and also reviewed the surrounding conditions for five long years. This enabled them to farm based on the demands, and farmers were also asked to be involved in the entire process from setting prices to putting up displays in the store and sales, which is said to have served a pivotal role in its success. Stop by and buy fresh produce from farms very close to the store.

Kakao Friends with rich local flavours has opened its doors in Jeonju. Located in the famous Jeonju Hanok Village, this store has a unique appearance by taking advantage of the beauty of traditional culture. First of all, Neo and Frodo from Kakao Friends stand holding lamps at the entrance, and how they are dressed up in hanbok is quite unique. Ryan is also wearing a hanbok, and it looks surprisingly great on him.

Throughout the store, you will find Kakao Friends in ways that can only be seen here, which shows Jeonju’s culture and tradition very well. The Confucian Scholar Friends who exactly resemble Confucian scholars studying in Seodang are so impressive that it will be hard to take your eyes off them. Even if you don’t enjoy drinking, you will still be captivated by the cute appeal of the soju glass of Little Apeach who looks like a Confucian scholar, and find yourself taking out your wallet before you realise.