Wender·Vista
Jeonju
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSouth Korea
in the southwest of the Korean peninsula, the old Joseon home country

Jeonju

— — the lane the lanterns warm before dusk.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“An old city that became a quiet capital of food. The hanok village holds more than seven hundred tile-roofed houses, lit from inside on autumn evenings while the bibimbap brass bowls clatter in the alleys behind. The smell is sesame oil and pine smoke. People come for a bowl and stay for the lane. — from the studio

from the studio
Jeonju
— bring it home

Jeonju, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Jeonju

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Jeonju sits in North Jeolla Province in the southwest of South Korea, about two hundred kilometres south of Seoul. The Hanok Village in the city centre preserves more than seven hundred traditional Korean houses on the site where the Joseon dynasty's founding family, the Jeonju Yi clan, traced its origins. The city has roughly 650,000 residents and was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2012, the first in South Korea to receive the designation. KTX trains from Seoul reach Jeonju in under two hours.

— the place food

Jeonju is the home of bibimbap. The local version layers seasoned vegetables, beef tartare, and a raw egg yolk over short-grain rice in a heavy brass yugi bowl, served with a small army of side dishes. The city also gave Korea its standard makgeolli rice wine style and a soybean-sprout hangover soup, kongnamul-gukbap, that locals eat at dawn. The Jeonju Bibimbap Festival each October draws cooks from across the country, and many of the village's restaurants have served the same family recipe for three generations.

— informed by Wikipedia — Bibimbap
— the lanterns

The Hanok Village is best in the hour before dark. Paper lanterns warm the eaves along Taejo-ro, the main lane named for the Joseon founder, and the slate-grey roof tiles take on a softer colour against the evening sky. Jeondong Catholic Church, built in 1914 in Byzantine-Romanesque brick at the edge of the village, lights up around the same hour. Many visitors rent a hanbok from one of the small shops near the gate and walk the lanes in the older clothing, which is permitted in the village by long local custom.

— where
South Korea · Jeonju, North Jeolla
— position
35.8242° N · 127.1480° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Jeondong Catholic Church
historic church
at the lake
Gyeonggijeon Shrine
Joseon royal shrine
1 km E
Omokdae
hilltop pavilion
N
Jeonju
Jeondong Catholic Church
Gyeonggijeon Shrine
Omokdae
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Jeonju — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Jeonju is the capital of North Jeolla Province in the southwest of South Korea, about two hundred kilometres south of Seoul. KTX trains from Seoul Yongsan reach the city in under two hours.

A preserved neighbourhood of more than seven hundred traditional Korean houses in the centre of the city, on the historic ground of the Jeonju Yi clan who founded the Joseon dynasty in 1392.

Jeonju is the home of bibimbap and was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2012, the first in South Korea. The local makgeolli rice wine and kongnamul-gukbap soup are also tied to the city.

Late October into November, when the autumn colour reaches the village and the annual Bibimbap Festival is held. Spring is also pleasant, but summers are humid and crowded.

A Byzantine-Romanesque brick church completed in 1914 at the edge of the Hanok Village. It stands on the site where the first Korean Catholic martyrs were executed in 1791.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The village and its food culture are points of pride for people from the region. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio is a quiet, place-rooted gift.

The warm lantern palette sits well in Japandi, Minimalist Asian, and warm-neutral interiors. The brick and tile tones also carry into rooms with walnut or oak furniture.

Yes. The muted earth tones and restrained line work fit the Japandi palette without leaning costume. It reads as a real place, not a motif.

Above a console, a single Large reads cleanly. Above a sofa, step up to a four-tile Mural; over a wide sectional, a nine-tile Mural carries the wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and is unaffected by steam, splashes, or regular cleaning.

A microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives, no ammonia. The thin glossy finish keeps fingerprints and kitchen oils from settling into the surface.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in our Knoxville studio by Reid Wender and is not licensed from any third party. One studio, one eye.

— if this one stayed with you

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