I had seen photos of this adorable place online before I arrived. Instantly, I knew it would be of interest, for the use of colour and street art is a definite magnet for me. A nice sunny day arrived and it was time. Come spend the day with me at the quirky Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan.
Getting There
Not too difficult, visitors will travel on the metro, line #1 to the Teseong Station. Here you can do like I did and walk up the mountain side, passing Ami-dong Tombstone Village, or take a local bus to the elementary school.
The walk is about 25 minutes to where the village officially starts, all uphill, so might be best to hop on the bus and save your stamina for the village.
Brief History
Originally a shanti-town of sorts, this village began life in the 1920’s when the city of Busan forced its working class citizens to relocate here. With no flat land available, the locals built their homes on the steep mountainside slopes, and the houses are quite literally on top of each other. To traverse from one to another, people walk down dim narrow alleys and steep staircases.
Gamcheong Culture Village reminded this way until 2009 when the Ministry of Culture decided to take this mountainside village and turn it into a tourist attraction. The ministry asked the people to paint their homes and decorate the walls with art.
The Start
Because I walked, I began right where the overhead signage for the village, spans the highway and a side street. If you take the bus, you will begin further into the village than I did.
Here, is the beginning of the tourist shops, and at first, I admit, I was a little turned off. I did not come to find tacky souvenirs, frozen beer and other touristy street foods, however fun those are sometimes.
Not to worry, once you are past these first few streets, the shops actually become more boutique like, artsy and one of a kind.
Street Art
The biggest reason I came was for the street art, which I adore. I was not disappointed and much to my delight it is everywhere.
There seem to be two main themes that are ‘The Little Prince’ and cats. I’m unable to discovery how or why this village adopted the French story book characters of the little Prince but they have and in a big way.
Visitors line up to have their photo taken with the Prince and fox, sitting on a stone wall overlooking the colourful village.
There are murals and references to these characters frequently and they are very sweet.
Cats seems to be the other big draw, while I only saw one real feline the entire time I was in the village, there is an abundance of cat street art. I am a huge lover of cats, so was in heaven walking around these streets and viewing the art.
There is no shortage of other street art as well, in fact it is prolific in this little vilalge.
Stairs
Another often decorated feature in the village are the staircases. Some are painted with abandon, bright colours mimicking the village houses and all sorts of characters. The ‘library stairs’ garner a lot of attention from photographers.
A huge staircase that I went down, thank goodness not up, was absolutely covered from top to bottom with tile art, painting and small sections of eclectic statuary. As long as it took me to traverse this massive staircase from the top of the village to the bottom, I did not pass one other tourist.
Tourists
Most are simply walking the roadway, very few are wandering into the little alleys, staircases, nooks and crannies. I love this type of exploration so I was away from the bulk of the tourists most of the time, digging deeper.
Gamcheon Culture Village is actually where I encountered the most tourists of my trip to Busan so far.
The Views
Magnificent. If you can picture the most charming easter egg coloured village on a mountainside, you would be imagining Gamcheon. It is very lively, vibrant and beautiful.
At every moment, when there was a break through from the alleys and stairs, I would be in awe of the sweetness before me. Remember this is still a fully functioning village. Locals, descendants of those resourceful people, are living in each of these homes.
This is a must see if you are in the vicinity of Busan. I have never encountered a village quite like this. The feeling you have of the resilience and survival of the people who were forced to relocate, to the proud town before you is wonderful. Without a doubt Gamcheon is a treasure of the Busan area in South Korea.
