Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan
Nicknamed “Machu Picchu of Korea”, Gamcheon Culture Village was built in the 1920s. After the Korea war, 800 families moved to the village. The Gamcheon-dong’s neighbourhood were built in the order of unique stairs-shape from Oknyebong to the foot of Mt. cheonma-san Stand. Each house is built not to block the front view of the house behind.
In 2009, art students, professional artists and residents repair and decorate the village with art, transforming the village into one of the most featured tourist attractions in Busan today.
Buy a map (2000 won) from the information counter at the entrance and explore the village using one of the 3 routes.
Course A takes you to the popular attractions like the Little Prince statue and is on the main road (40 minutes).
Course C (2 hours) takes you to all the attractions where you can get your map stamped and get free postcards. As Gamcheon Culture Village is on a hill, note that this course is not for people with mobility issues as there are many staircase and slopes to take, both up and down.
House with Puppies
Course B (1 hour and 20 minutes) is just a moderate course in between A and B.
I took course C and although it said 2 hours, I took more than 3 hours to complete as I could not find some of the attractions. They said to just follow the fish signs when you get lost, but certain areas are not well-marked.
There are many shops and cafes along the way, selling souvenirs and korean food, snacks etc. If you are taking course C, do make sure to buy souvenirs from one of these shops instead of waiting till you reach the end of the course, as there are no souvenir shops at the end!
If you are interested to stay in this village you can actually do so! Banga Bang Guesthouse is made by utilizing and renovating an empty house. Room rate start from 20,000 won per person. Check out this website!
Click here for information on how to get to Gamcheon Culture Village.