Zerowaste Home Sweet Home — For a Trip Worth a Little Inconvenience

Nestled at the foot of Mount Moaksan in Jeonju, ‘Moaksanui Achim’ (Morning of Mount Moaksan) aims to be a zero-waste stay that carries a message about the climate crisis. This is a place for the ‘intellectual and conscious traveler.’

Words Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee Moa (operator of Moaksanui Achim)

Guests need to get used to unfamiliar items like yellowish bamboo toilet paper made without cutting down trees, solid toothpaste, shampoo bars, and body wash soap, and to bring reusable containers instead of disposables when getting takeout from nearby restaurants. Trash-heavy barbecue parties are off the table, and there’s no TV. Some might ask: do we really need to follow inconvenient rules and feel a vague guilt about harming the environment, even while on vacation? Moa, who runs the zero-waste stay Moaksanui Achim, believes this is exactly the manual we need to keep enjoying the travel we love in a sustainable way. As Moa describes it, Moaksanui Achim isn’t just a place to stay — it’s somewhere to experience zero-waste products throughout the bathroom, kitchen, and rooms, and to learn about the virtuous cycle of energy and resources.

📝 Note 1. Won’t this make the trip uncomfortable?

What kind of place is Moaksanui Achim?
It’s a zero-waste stay that supports sustainable travel, housed in a red brick house completed in 2003 that has held onto its 20-some years of history. The view of Mount Moaksan and the bamboo forest through the living room’s picture window is beautiful. It’s also a space that tries all kinds of things, from book talks to programs involving the various creatures that live on the mountain alongside us — birds, wild grasses, and more.

I hear you were born and raised here.
This used to be the house my family lived in together. Four years ago, when my family moved out, I — the eldest daughter — took over running the space. I wanted to meet many people and have all kinds of experiences.

What led you to make zero-waste the main concept of the stay?
It feels a bit unfamiliar, but I’m grateful that you see zero-waste as the main concept — it makes me happy too. (laughs) Honestly, it wasn’t like that from the start. When I first began running the place, I realized how much trash was being generated — more than I expected — and that got me interested in the environment. Over the next three years, I came up with various ways to deliver a message about the climate crisis here and make it easy for guests to experience eco-friendly products. Through that process, it naturally became the main concept.
Actually, I went back and forth a lot before settling on the term ‘zero-waste stay.’ I considered several candidates like ‘sustainable stay,’ ‘eco-friendly stay,’ and ‘green stay,’ but I chose ‘zero-waste stay’ because I thought the most widely used term would be most effective for delivering a strong message about the climate crisis. I noticed the term is already commonly used abroad. I look forward to the day when the eco-friendly travel practices we currently follow at Moaksanui Achim become mainstream and taken for granted, so that this term itself becomes unnecessary.

How do guests react?
Quite a few people tell me they tried cut pieces of soap and solid toothpaste here for the first time and then went out and bought some once they got home. Moaksanui Achim tends to get a lot of families, and older guests in particular light up when they see the sochang towels and natural loofahs. More and more people seem to resonate with what we’re trying to do, which makes me really proud as the operator.

Since it’s a whole-house rental, I imagine solo travelers aren’t that common.
It can be a financial burden to use a two-story house alone, and it might also feel intimidating for someone unfamiliar with rural life. So we created a community program called ‘Moarowa’ (Come to Moaksanui Achim) so that solo travelers who share our values can still stay here. Each room can be booked separately by one person, and guests take part in things like vegetarian meals, meditation, and walks together. It’s not a regular program — we run it occasionally when the schedule works out. You can check for announcements on Instagram and our blog.

📝 Note 2. A local’s take on the charm of Jeonju

What is Jeonju like as a place to live?
To someone who was born and raised here, Jeonju feels like a warm, stable city. It has beautiful nature and cozy alleyways, and it’s fun to see the little vegetable patches and gardens every house seems to have. Small gatherings and markets that let you feel real human warmth pop up all over town, too. Compared to other regions, there are also more cafés and restaurants offering vegan options.
Since I started my environmental activities, I’ve built a network with the owners of nearby restaurants and shops, and because they’ve all been so supportive of the campaign, I can carry on this work with peace of mind. I’d like to live in Jeonju for a long, long time.

What makes it appealing as a travel destination?
There’s so much to see and do. I recommend guests walk or bike along the stream next to Hanok Village. Crossing the stepping stones over the stream, listening to the water, and watching the leaves flutter — it’s a great way to feel Jeonju’s nature. The neighborhood bookstores and libraries are charming too. Each bookstore has its own interior and curation, and with more than ten libraries around, each with its own concept, there’s always something fun to discover.

📝 Note 3. Until experiences from travel become everyday practices

What kind of travel destinations do you like?
I like small, quiet towns. I once traveled through a rural village in the Netherlands where the main mode of transportation was boats. I still remember the deep sunset I watched while rowing a small boat I borrowed from the guesthouse owner, gliding across a calm river. I’d like to live in the Netherlands someday.

Are there any zero-waste stays you’d like to visit?
I’d love to visit every zero-waste stay, both in Korea and abroad. When I first started this zero-waste stay, I gathered other stay operators who shared the same vision and built a community. I’d like to first visit the stays that gave me advice and encouragement when I was putting together our zero-waste manual — places like Sorosoro Guesthouse in Jeju, Ihubooks Stay in Yeongwol, Nakto in Ganghwado, and Book Stay Enough in Busan. (You can find zero-waste stays across the country on Instagram @travel_moa.)

What’s needed for zero-waste stays to be sustainable going forward?
Right now, I think the operator’s sincerity and determination matter most. I didn’t start this with some grand sense of mission either. I’m just using this space to share information and speak up, hoping for a society where we coexist with all kinds of living things. Honestly, dividing soap into small portions takes a lot of extra effort and costs much more. But I can keep doing it because I’m convinced it’s the right way. It’s also important for more consumers to choose zero-waste stays. If the positive influence that operators and guests exchange keeps growing, I believe it will help with all sorts of social issues too.

What are your plans and goals going forward?
I’d like to hold a sustainable wedding at Moaksanui Achim. I’m envisioning a small wedding that minimizes waste throughout the preparation and event, and reduces carbon emissions by serving vegetarian food made with local ingredients. This fall, I’m planning to open a community space centered on sustainability, along with a small vegan grocery store. Since we don’t live in this world alone, I want to keep experiencing and learning about many different areas so I can live alongside others.

📝 Note 4. Moaksanui Achim also looks after cats living in the neighborhood, sometimes fostering them and helping ones in need of human care find adoptive homes. It feels all the more genuine because, rather than just talking about it, the place shows through consistent action that this world should belong not just to humans, but to cats, wild birds, and wildflowers alike.