Busan | Gamcheon Culture Village aka the “Santorini of Korea”

One of the best things about the city where we live is that we aren’t very far from the beach. Which, for two lazy summer planners, means it’s pretty easy to pick up and go whenever we get the itch. We booked a room by the beach on a Friday night and by Saturday we were walking through the so-called “Santorini of Korea,” (Gamcheon Culture Village) lounging on the beach, and stuffing our faces with fresh seafood.

We have never been to Santorini, but from the pictures I’ve seen online, Gamcheon doesn’t quite evoke the same feel. My sister said it looked more like Valparaiso, Chile, while others have referred to Gamcheon Culture Village as the “Machu Picchu of Busan.”  Greece, Chile, or Peru, to me this artistic little town of brightly colored houses nestled in the foothills of a coastal mountain still felt very much Korean.

The area that is now Gamcheon Culture Village was at one time considered to be a slum of Busan. During the Korean War, Busan was one of few cities never occupied by the North Korean army. As such, many refugees fled to Busan for safety and as the more populated parts of the city began to become overcrowded, people fled to the mountain village, erecting makeshift houses from rocks and whatever scrap materials could be found. After the war, the shanty town was rebuilt with brick and concrete to form lego-like homes. It is said that each house was built so as not to block the view of the house behind.

While the rest of Busan steamed ahead into modernity with glass skyscrapers and massive high rises, Gamcheon remained a somewhat poor neighborhood on the outskirt of a modern city. Electricity didn’t exist until 1965 and running water was not available until the 1970s. In 2009, the Korean government came up with the  “Dreaming of Machu Picchu in Busan project,” followed by the “Miro Miro project” with the idea of revitalizing Gamcheon to make it more appealing to tourists. Artists were commissioned to paint murals and the cube-like homes were painted bold colors.

People and Birds by Jeon Yeongjin – “This piece conveys that wish to sometimes fly in the sky like birds leaving everything behind”

Today, Gamcheon Culture Village is a charming – though very touristy – part of town, easily navigable on foot. We picked up a map and stamp book from the tourist information center and set out to explore the village. Art was everywhere we looked in the form painted murals, sculptures that looked down on us, trick art paintings, and installation art. Fish-shaped placards, decorated by artists and villagers, decorated pretty much every surface and served as a way to indicate the tourist path.

Some streets were completely off limits to tourists, as many villagers still lived in the village. As we followed the well-trodden tourist path it was hard not to be seduced by all the winding alleys that passed by overgrown container gardens and residential homes. The faint tinkling of silverware, the muffled static of television sets, and the occasional burst of laughter from a room on the other side of a wall made me want to peer into each and every house and experience the mundane rituals of daily life.

pants sculptures were pretty popular in these parts

We relished in the cool air that blew from the mountains and the sea on an otherwise warm and sunny day. At the top of the hill we picked up a few prints at a printmaking shop and then took a break at a tiny cafe with an amazing view.

The Little Prince and Fennec Fox by Na Inju had line of people waiting to take a photo wrapped around the entire block in what I’m sure was over an hour wait. Once they reached the prince, pretty much every single person took the exact same pose.

According to the description of the art piece:

The Little Prince and the Fennec Fox came to Earch [sic] after leaving their star, and arrived at Gamcheon Culture Village. During their journey, they sit on the railing and look down on the village.

Why would the prince come to Gamcheon of all places?

Koreans are kind of obsessed with The Little Prince – this isn’t the only place where you can pose with a statue of the guy.

“Stairs to see the stars” stairway – so named because they are so steep that people ‘see stars’ after climbing them.

Our Town Gamcheon, by Jin Yeongseop. “The houses that seem similar at a glance but are actually different remind us of unity within diversity found among humankind.”

Fish Swimming Through the Alley, by Jin Yeongseop. “This work represents the alley, which is the communication channel of the residents.”

Mongi and Beanpole, by Kim Yeongmi. “This piece represents the imaginary space of an alley in childhood memories where the friendly beanpole and puppy Mongi used to run around and play together.”

At first we followed our map quite closely, making sure to stop at all the highlighted places to get a stamp for our book. Eventually we stopped caring about the map and the stamps and wandered freely, stopping to look at art, houses, and views that interested us.

While walking up a dark alley I heard some soft mewing from above. At first I thought I had only imagined it, but then I looked up a stairwell and saw an entire kitty family meowing at a resident’s door, hoping to get a bite to eat. One daring kitty leaped over our heads, while another stalked us from below the steps. I had to resist the strong urge to cuddle them (and take a few home).

No matter where we go in Korea, we always seem to find kitties!

House of Wind, by Park Taehong. This room uses mirrors and wires “to reflect various images of the viewer” leading to “profound self-reflection.”

I don’t know about “Santorini” or “Machu Picchu” (major stretch on the latter), but Gamcheon definitely had a Euro-Korean feel about it that differed from many of the old neighborhoods we have visited throughout Korea. It felt like we were still in Korea, and then it also didn’t.  Sometimes wannabe Euro towns end up feeling a bit like a theme park, but Gamcheon still (thankfully) felt like a real neighborhood. Just one with a lot of people taking lots of photos.

Unsurprisingly, our favorite moments exploring Gamcheon occurred when we strayed a little bit off the main tourist trails and ducked into tiny shops and cafes not listed in any guide. In this case, getting lost was part of the fun.

DETAILS

Gamcheon Culture Village | COST: Free to enter, ~$2 for stamp book/map | DESCRIPTION: Colorful neighborhood nestled in the base of a mountain with plenty of cafes, shops, and even guesthouses/homestays. While aimed at tourists, Gamcheon still retains a quaint, neighborhood vibe (though I can’t imagine how annoying it would be to actually be a resident there).  The village is located relatively close to Jalgachi, however, due to its hilly location, there are no subway stop at Gamcheon. To get here you either need to drive, take a cab, or take a bus. We drove and easily found paid parking (~$2-$3) right across the street from the town. Be sure to stop by the tourist information center and pick up a map/art guide/stamp book – they have both Korean and English versions. While the main path around Gamcheon is paved/easy, there are some places that involve climbing hills and many steps. Public restrooms available throughout.  |  VERDICT: Definitely touristy, but still very charming. Recommended.

Wigilho Print People | COST: $1 for a postcard to over $300+ for an original print. T-shirts and other printed items approx $10-$15 | DESCRIPTION: Part printmaking gallery, part studio, part souvenir shop, part hands-on work space for all ages. In a sea of brightly colored buildings and crowded tourist shops, this muted gallery space caught my attention. I was also curious about it being a printmaking shop thinking maybe they sold letterpress prints. It turned out to be a gallery/shop for the artist, Wi Gilho’s art. We really loved his work and contemplated buying an original lithograph. In the end we settled for three small, inexpensive prints that we plan on adding to our “things that we’ll frame and hang one day” collection. In addition to selling artwork, this print shop offers instructional scratchboard printmaking classes for adults and children. These are my favorite types of ‘souvenir’ shops.