Where to stay in Jinju

Jinju is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War.

Orienting yourself in Jinju is easy. Jinju is a central city among the regions in the south of Korea. The town is cut in half by the Nam River (Namgang), with Jinju Fortress, downtown, most hotels, the commercial-residential sprawl and the intercity bus station all on the north bank. The train station and the express bus station lie on the south bank. Jinju is a small and medium-sized city with a population of almost 350,000 (2022), but it is an educational city with two colleges and three national universities.

If you are adventurous and need a really cheap place to stay, try one of the jjimjilbang (co-ed sauna rooms) around the city. Jjimjilbang typically cost ₩8000 and up, for which you get a pair of pajamas to wear, full use of the sauna, a locker to put your possessions in, and a floor to sleep on. One such jimjilbang is Theme Spa Land (테마건강란드), which has a good sauna. There are lots of gaudy love hotels/yeogwan along the riverfront on both sides of the bus terminal. Rooms from ₩25,000. Among these, the Versace Motel (베르싸체 모텔) is recognisable for its Romanesque frontage, complete with pillars and small balconies. It's next to Jinju Bridge in the city centre.

Getting in

Jinju's Sacheon Airport (HIN), 20 km away from the city in Sacheon, fields flights daily to and from Seoul's Gimpo Airport and twice a week to Jeju Island. Buses to the city center take 25 minutes and cost ₩3,000. Alternatively Busan's Gimhae International Airport is one and a half hours away, and also serves international routes. Bus is the easiest way of reaching Jinju. There are departures every ten minutes from Busan's Seobu (Sa-sang) terminal (1½ hr, ₩6,900) and from Masan (1 hr, ₩4,000), as well as every 20-30 min from Seoul's Gangnam Express Bus terminal (4 hr, ₩20,000).

Getting around

Buses inside Jinju cost ₩1300 and go almost everywhere in Jinju. You can buy a reloadable bus pass at convenience stores like GS-25. These cost about ₩10,000 and may come with a bus ride or two already on them, depending on the kind you buy. Each ride is discounted to ₩1,250 as well. Buses are available but you'll find it hard to use it unless you speak Korean, since bus stop signs are almost exclusively in Korean and your average bus driver won't speak English. City bus routes that go to the KTX station: 126, 127, 128, 131, 132, 134, 135, 151.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.