This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.
Busan: The city of dreams, with its towering skyscrapers, sandy beaches, and hiking apparel stores as far as the eye can see. However, one can’t help but feel a little uninspired every once in a while in this bustling, concrete, ultra-modern metropolitan. The sea of identical-looking apartments, usually some “off” shade of brown, white, or gray, can be visually exhausting and the homogenous nature of most neighbourhoods is often slightly depressing (read: any given city block is as follows – Baskins Robbins, an Olleh phone store, Starbucks, a KT phone store, Caffe Bene, a second Olleh phone store, Dunkin Donuts, a third OIleh phone store, and so on…).
Thankfully, the hills of Saha-gu offer a perfectly vibrant outlet for those pining for an escape from the urban solitude of Busan: the Gamcheon Culture Village. Gamcheon, affectionally dubbed “Lego Village”, takes the mantra of Pocahontas (“paint with all the colours of the wind”) to new heights, as the majority of its 10,000 residents live in pink and blue and yellow and green pastel-hued homes.
Allow me to rattle off, at an auctioneers pace, the history, and establishment of Gamcheon: during the 1950s, refugees flocked to Busan in the wake of the Korean War, and established a shanty town of sorts, that over the next two decades was transformed into the village of block-style houses that remain today. The rest of Busan industrialized and modernized at a rapid fire pace while Gamcheon remained “old school” and relatively poor in comparison. Just over five years ago, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism hired artists to work with Gamcheon’s residents to create and install murals reflective of the “Taeguk” (yin and yang symbol) throughout the village, and thus, the Gamcheon Culture Village known today was born. [Note: For deeper insights about the history of Gamcheon, follow the jump to this fantastic article on Busan Haps, written by Jessica Steele.]
After seeing pictures of the village from early December when Maddie, Jess, and our friend Marta visited, I knew a visit to Gamcheon was imminent. Six weeks later, on a gloomy Saturday afternoon, I, along with fellow wanderluster and close friend, Mary, journeyed by subway and taxi to the culture village in the hopes that the bright village would serve as a distraction from the gray January skies.
Immediately upon arrival, Mary and I began derping around the village, leaving written messages wholly indicative of our respective personal brands on the walls of the village photo gallery, performing headstands and wheels on the observation deck’s soaking wet AstroTurf, and purposefully avoiding the numerous paved footpaths in favour of bounding down the treacherous and hilly grasslands of Gamcheon. Our egos swelled at the applause we received for our yoga poses from other tourists and our sides ached from giggling as we gracelessly descended Gamcheon’s hills.
Like most of South Korea, Gamcheon is brimming with bizarre idiosyncrasies. In one instance, I happened to peer into the open door of a bungalow whilst walking down a deserted alley, and I kid you not, there was a young Korean woman immobile on the floor, encased in Saran Wrap. Like, the kind that your mom would wrap your elementary school baloney sandwiches in. Given that Mary and I are both tall individuals with long legs, I thought that maybe my eyes had played a simple trick on me as a result of my brisk stride. Mary turned back to verify my claim and the look of shock and slight horror on her face confirmed that there was indeed a poor young woman likely waiting to be devoured like a bulgogi* sandwich. In another instance, we climbed a flight of stairs that had been painted to resemble an ascending library, each step representing a literary classic. One step was particularly larf-worthy, emblazoned with the classic Konglish phrase “YOU NEED DIET”. Korea, you’re strange but I really do (mostly) love it.
The beauty of Gamcheon is that you’re basically a lab rat, running through a never-ending maze THAT YOU CAN’T LOSE AT. Detoured off the main road to venture down a twisty alley that caught your eye? That’s cool, if you go down those three staircases there, take 6 lefts, and walk backwards with your eyes closed, you will literally end up back where you started. Mary and I wandered aimlessly for about 20 minutes, somehow stumbled upon the village’s main entrance, and then pretended like the nonsensical path we chose had been our planned route all along. Foolproof.
My advice to prospective visitors varies based on personality. For the flexible, “go with the flow” types, let the colours of Gamcheon speak to inner spirit, as you float through the narrow alleys. The element of surprise upon accidentally stumbling across the various art installations is a treat in itself. For the more structured, “type A” tourist, I would recommend some pre-departure research and an investment in a village map detailing the locations of each respective village landmarks. [Note: These maps are sold at the tourist information centre and retail for 2,000 won.]
Quietly quirky, the Gamcheon Culture Village is a nice reminder that it’s always best to march to the beat of your own janggu**.
Directions
To get to the Gamcheon Culture Village, take the Red Line on the Busan Subway (Line 1) to Toseong Station (stop 109). Take exit 8, walking straight until you reach the bus stop at the PNU Cancer Center. Take mini-bus 2 or 2-2 for approximately 10 minutes until you reach the stop at Gamcheon Elementary School. [Note: A cab from Nampo Station (Red Line, stop 111) costs about 4,000 won.]
* I’ve got to keep my examples Korea specific, okay?
** A janggu is a traditional Korean drum. Korea specific, right?
Gamcheon warrior
Happy, bucket listing derps
A staircase for all the bookworms out there
Letting these colourful fishies act as our spirit guides
Blessed Gamcheon at dusk
A sample of the featured art in Gamcheon
A(nother) beautiful Busan temple
Millennial Abroad 
