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Pungnammun Gate

The last of Jeonju's four town gates, standing on a traffic island where the wall used to run.

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Typecity gate
WhereJeollabuk
Nearest cityJeonju, in the city
Best seasonAny; April to June and September to November are pleasant
Time to allowThirty minutes
Getting thereJeonju, Jeonbuk; central, a short walk from the hanok village
EntryFree

Pungnammun was the south gate of the walled town of Jeonju, and it is the only one of the four left - the others and the wall itself came down under Japanese administration in the early twentieth century as the city expanded. What stands is a stone base with an arched passage and a two-storey wooden pavilion above, rebuilt in 1768 after fire and restored since; the semicircular barbican that once shielded the arch is gone. It sits now on an island in the middle of a roundabout with traffic circling it, a few minutes' walk from the hanok village and next to the covered Nambu market, which is where most people combine it. You cannot go up into the pavilion. It is lit at night and photographs better then. Twenty minutes at street level covers it, and it is free.

What you actually see

  • The arched stone base - the old passage through the wall line.
  • The upper pavilion - two storeys of timber above the arch.
  • The traffic island - the city grown round the gate.
  • The night lighting - the gate lit after dark.

When to go

Any time of year; evening for the lighting. It is on the way between the hanok village and Nambu market, which is how most people see it.

Honest expectations

The pavilion is closed - you look at the gate from outside, and the setting is a roundabout with constant traffic noise. Thirty minutes at most.

Nearby

Gyeonggijeon and the hanok village are a few minutes away; Nambu market is adjacent.

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Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.

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