Jeondong Cathedral is one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in Korea — a Romanesque-Byzantine structure built in 1914 with a distinctive red-brick facade, twin bell towers, and a copper dome that has turned the deep green of aged bronze. It sits directly across from the Hanok Village, making the juxtaposition of East and West unusually visible: traditional tile roofs on one side, European ecclesiastical stonework on the other.
The interior is cool and hushed, with stained glass windows filtering the light into the nave. The cathedral remains an active parish, and the contrast between the deeply Korean street life outside and the European interior is one of Jeonju's more memorable moments. The plaza in front is a good place to sit and watch the Hanok Village entrance come alive in the mornings.
A small memorial garden beside the cathedral marks the site of the 1791 executions that preceded the church by over a century.