Beautiful Hanok (Korean Traditional Building Style) Cafés in Jeonju: Onewwol, Haengwon, Myungcheonjae

Where to go when the tourist information center is closed?

When the Tourist Information Center is closed, visit the ‘Time Travel Café’ for rest and information. The city has designated seven cafes as the ‘Time Travel Café’: Wangui Jimil, Sangsang Café, Coffee Baljeonso, TEA and TORTE, Haengwon, Onewwol, and Myungcheonjae. We’re going to visit the last three cafes on the list today.

Café Onewwol

Walking through Jeonju Hanok Village is like time travelling to the past. There are almost 800 hanok (Korean traditional building style) buildings here.

Café Onewwol is located in a beautiful hanok built from the materials dismantled from more than 200 years old house.

The café also holds exhibitions, runs experience programs, and functions as a tourist information center. The visitors can also meet a cute puppy named Owol.

​Onewwol
Address: Hyanggyogil 56, Wansangu, Jeonju
Contact: 063-284-2588
Menu: Omija tea, hongsi (ripe persimmon) smoothie, misutgaru (multigrain powder beverage)
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00

Haengwon

Haengwon is a café that used to be a high-end Korean restaurant for 90 years. Hence the place has a long history.

The premise is also the home to a pansori (Korean traditional long epic song style) master Seong Jun-suk. The house itself, frequented by the locals and tourists, is also registered as the city’s cultural property.

The venue used to host the song lessons. Even today, traditional musical performance (pansori, gayagum, daegum, etc.) is held every Saturday at 4PM.

This is the most popular summer dessert menu, the sweet pumpkin pat bingsu (shaved ice with red beans and other sweet toppings). The sweet pumpkin isn’t too sweet, so it goes really well with the sweet red beans. Also, the texture of the nuts and rice cake toppings were pleasant too.

I enjoyed the view of the beautiful garden while eating the sweet pumpkin pat bingsu. Visiting Haengwon felt like travelling to a distant destination.

​Haengwon
Address: Pungnammun 3gil 12, Wansangu, Jeonju
Contact: 063-284-6566
Menu: Sweet pumpkin pat bingsu, sweet pumpkin, millet pancake, coffee, and more
Opening hours: 10:00~22:00 (closed on Mondays)

Myungcheonjae

Only five minutes away from Jeonju Hanok Village, Myungcheonjae is an hanok café next to the Jeonjuchun River.

The café has a wide green courtyard and outdoor tables. If you’re bored with the franchise cafes in the city, I recommend visiting Myungcheonjae. Families with children, in particular, will have great time here.

The hanok building of Myeongchunjae is from somewhere else. The owner brought and restored a hundred years old hanok building at the current location.

I ordered a lemonade and warm green tea. The freshly baked mini croissant looks very yummy.

The atmosphere of the café is very relaxing. There are artistic pieces on display here and there, so it seems like a gallery too. The café also offers local travel guide pamphlets.

Under the signpost saying ‘Time Travel Café’, there are different pamphlets for travelling Jeonju. When you need to rest your legs or are looking for a tourist information, remember the cafes registered as ‘Time Travel Cafes’. They will assist your travel back in time.

Myungcheonjae
Address: Waewondanggil 15, Wansangu, Jeonju
Contact: 010-9258-6002
Menus: Americano coffee, café latte, green tea, puer tea, ulong tea, ssanghwa tea
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00 (closed on Tuesdays)