Gaeksa-gil & Gaekridan-gil

A redevelopment freeze made room for a different revival

For roughly a decade, redevelopment plans kept part of Jeonju’s old center in limbo. When the designation was lifted around 2016, low rents and older buildings gave small operators room to move in. Cafés, restaurants and independent shops began filling the lanes behind Gaeksa-gil, creating what became known as Gaekridan-gil

The building-by-building pattern is still visible. Le Frank, at 46-12 Jeonjugaeksa 1-gil, is one current café occupying the low-rise side-street fabric that produced the district’s original identity. But the revival no longer looks settled. By late 2024, lease signs and repeated tenant turnover had become common, with merchants describing independents giving way to franchises that also cycled out. A January 2026 report still found Gaekridan-gil notably quiet amid weak consumption

Film Street has held up differently

Gaeksa-gil remains the broader commercial and cinema spine. Its film identity is contemporary rather than a row of preserved historic theaters: CGV Jeonjugosa and Megabox Jeonju Gaeksa are modern multiplexes, while the nearby JEONJU Digital Independent Cinema adds a dedicated independent screen

The distinction matters most during the Jeonju International Film Festival. The 2026 festival used CGV Jeonjugosa, Megabox Jeonju Gaeksa and JEONJU Digital Independent Cinema as official screening venues, keeping film activity concentrated in the old center even as the smaller Gaekridan side lanes struggle with churn. A short walk now crosses two different commercial conditions inside the same downtown

The name still points to the older city

“Gaeksa” comes from the guesthouse that once received officials and envoys in the old provincial center. The surviving Jeonju Gaeksa, now known as Pungpaejigwan, remains one of the district’s historic anchors while contemporary commerce continues around it

That gives the area three distinct layers rather than one simple revival story: historic civic architecture, a still-active festival and multiplex corridor, and side streets where the post-2016 café boom has become much more fragile. Jeonju’s old center remains in use, but its blocks are now moving in different directions

Before you go

Gaeksa-gil and Film Street provide the most stable orientation, with Gaekridan-gil branching into the smaller lanes behind them. The side-street tenant mix changes quickly, so a current café or restaurant list ages faster here than the district’s street pattern, cinema venues and Pungpaejigwan anchor