Reminiscing Childhood at Jaman Mural Village

Jaman Mural Village is as popular as the next door Jeonju Hanok Village. Started as a shantytown for the refugees during the Korean War, the mural village used to be a poor village with abandoned houses. However, the city and the locals put hard efforts to transform the village into an attraction for both locals and tourists. Today, I’ll walk the alleyways of Jaman Mural Village.

At the entrance of the mural village are two separate ways. Here, I found a nice café with colorful, instagrammable chairs.

On the walls are famous anime characters. I’m excited to find out who’s on the wall next.

There were also romantic murals for couples.

I also found the main characters of the popular comics from the 70s to the 90s, such as Dallyeola Hani, Slam Dunk, Yeongsimi, City Hunter, and others. This encounter reminded me of my childhood days.

The old comic books are provided by the villagers, but the comic books are not in a good condition. Let’s just look at them along with the murals.

I stopped by the café named ‘Kojitabong’. The exterior of the café suits the atmosphere of Jaman Mural Village. There are several cafés in the mural village, but this café is located in the mid-way to the top.

On my way out, I came across famous people, such as John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, and others.

I could also have a peek at the everyday life of the villagers. The red chilli peppers and jujubes were drying under the sun. The locals also planted small flowers and trees in the pots. Also, the view overlooking Jeonju’s downtown is great.

Murals continue even on the rugged walls. Mostly plants and flowers were drawn on such walls. Such murals heightened my late-autumn mood.

Some of the murals are drawn by recognised painters. I’d like to introduce firstly Yi Ji-hyun’s ‘Cosmos flowers that don’t fall’. The mural represents our mothers’ youth through splendid colors. The second mural, ‘My mother, whom I even imagined her name’. The painter wanted to represent the appreciation for the love and sacrifice of our mothers through rice, an everyday stuff.

The third mural is ‘Yet….’ by the painter named Rosa. The painter wanted to convey hopeful message to young people. The last mural is the portrait of Yi Wu, the grandson of the Emperor Gojong, with the plum flowers. The plum flower is the symbol of the Joseon Dynasty royal household.

Some murals represent the Korean characters, bibimbap, Korean traditional paintings, and pointillism.

At the end of the street, I came across the cute Spider Man, the kids drawing on the wall, and a happy family. I liked the bold use of colors.

This is how I did a round-walk of Jaman Mural Village. If you’re travelling to Jeonju Hanok Village, don’t miss this gem next door!

Jaman Mural Village
Location: Gyodong 50-158, Wansangu, Jeonju
* Although it’s a tourist attraction, locals reside in Jaman Mural Village. When visiting, let’s not make too much noise.