Just before arriving in Jeonju 〖전주시〗 Korea, train passengers could see a shipwrecked sailing ship out of the window. Far away from any waterway, this rusting ship looked whimsical since it appeared beached above fields of crops. Called the Phoenix Restaurant 〖피닉스 레스토랑〗, it was a 4-floor bar, restaurant, and wedding venue.
It had been open for 5 years when a fire destroyed much of the interior in 2005.1 Little other information could be exhumed about the ship, including no record of what it was like when it opened. It was left to rust for 12 years until it was razed around 2017 or 2018. 2
It is ironic a restaurant named the Phoenix and was destroyed by fire but never rose again. After the venue closed, it was nothing more than an unusual landmark and an eyesore according to some. Perspectives of the local residents are presented in one article1 regarding the charred and rusted ship which are characteristic of common Korean viewpoints on neglected locations.3
“[It looks] just like a ship that had sunk. It is not only visually inconvenient to citizens passing by, but also provides a bad image of Jeonju to passengers using the train. ”
“I’m a little nervous about raising my daughter.”
“It’s not an ordinary building, it’s a ship shape, so it stands out more. … It should be removed as soon as possible. Jeonju’s image as an Artpolis is going down”
- 김희숙. 전주 호성동 흉물 선박형 레스토랑 철거 시급. Sae Jeonbuk Newspaper. Published November 28, 2010. Accessed August 25, 2021.
- Google Earth Imagery.
- File C. Urban explorers find life in abandoned spaces. Yonhap News Agency. Published May 23, 2012. Accessed August 24, 2021.