Last Updated: July 27, 2023
If you are down in the south of South Korea you will probably hit Busan, the second biggest city after Seoul.
With bright neon lights and a real buzzing metropolitan, Busan is a great addition to any South Korea itinerary.
And if there is only one thing you do whilst in Busan, it should be to visit the Gamcheon Culture Village. It is such a fun activity on a sunny day and one that people of all ages can enjoy.
With colourful houses, quirky artwork and scrumptious snacks, Gamcheon Culture Village has a lot to offer for a day out and a break from the hustle-bustle of the city.
What is the Gamcheon Culture Village?
Well… it’s a village.
But no ordinary village.
It was originally built in the 1920’s as relocation point for some of the poorest Korean families. To move them away from the port, but still within arms reach to be able to provide labour.
It was originally a shanty town or slum with all wooden houses. Eventually brick houses were built, but it was still a poorly developed area by Korean standards.
That all changed in 2009 when the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism decided to renovate the village into a cultural hub.
Artists were invited from across the globe to come and renovate and repair the area. And it has now become the colourful vibrant area that we see today. Decorated with numerous pieces of street art, amongst other attractions.
It’s now a major tourist destination for Busan and one that is visited by thousands each year.
Often called the ‘Machu Picchu of Busan’ due to the village being built on the side of a steep sloped mountain. Or ‘Lego City’ due to the colourful block houses. It’s known for it’s steep winding streets and labyrinth like alleyways.
How do you get to the Gamcheon Cultural Village?
Gamcheon Cultural Village is just outside the city of Busan in South Korea. So getting to Busan is your first task.
Busan does have Gimhae International Airport, although it only takes a small proportion of flights from abroad in comparison to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.
So Seoul is often the starting point for international visitors to South Korea. Make sure you check out the DMZ whilst in Seoul if it is your starting point.
The quickest way from Seoul to Busan is the KTX train, which takes just over 2 hours to get between the two. So theoretically you could do Busan as a day trip. But we would definitely advise you to stay a while.
The ‘normal’ trains are cheaper and perfectly fine as well to make the journey, if you’re not in a major rush and what to save a bit of dosh.
Busan train station also accommodates trains from many other destinations. So if you are coming in from somewhere other than Seoul it still should be relatively easy to reach Busan by train from most places.
The best way to but tickets for the train are on the KoRail website.
As Busan s a port city, you could also enter Busan by Ferry, as we did from Fukuoka, Japan. This is a great way to get into South Korea from it’s neighbour across the east sea. If that’s your starting point.
Once you are in Busan, it’s then pretty easy to get to the cultural village via public transport.
You can take the Metro Line 1 and alight at Toseong Station. Then if you head out though exit 6 you can jump on the village bus to Gamcheon Culture Village.
It can also be reached by road if preferred. So a taxi all the way from wherever you are staying in Busan is possible, but usually not as economical. Or a combo of Metro then Taxi can also be an option.
What is there to do at the Gamcheon Culture Village?
You might be wondering what the point of all this is and why we enjoyed it so much. After all it’s just a colourful village, why would we like that so much?
Well it actually has a really fun scavenger hunt to enjoy.
If you head to the Haneul Maru Tourist Information Center and Observatory upon arrival, you can pick up a map and a stamp collection sheet. Which costs approximately 2,000 KRW (£1.25).
The map will show you all the sites on in the village and where all the street art is with a little picture and description for each one.
So you can walk around and tick off each piece of art as you find it.
We found this really fun and were determined to view every single one. The art is also really colourful and fun.
On top of that there is also the stamp sheet, mentioned earlier. This is an additional scavenger hunt and you will find stamp points as you explore the street art at the same time.
When you find one you head into the establishment and get your sheet stamped. Once you have all of them and have finished exploring you then head back to the Haneul Maru Tourist Information Center and Observatory to claim a little prize!
It’s such a fun way to explore this beautiful village.
You can admire the art, enjoy the views and also get some delicious street food whilst taking the stroll.
It’s obviously best done on a dry day so try to check the weather if you can.
The locals have mixed feelings about the rejuvenation of the area. So be respectful as it is still a place where people live. But all the people we met whilst there were extremely friendly
You’ll probably want to put a whole day aside for this trip, although if you rush it you can do it in a morning. But take your time and soak it all in as it really is a very fun and pleasant activity to enjoy in Busan.