Penguin Village

5.6 Km 0 2023-11-22

7 , Cheonbyeonjwa-ro 446beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju

BTS mural and penguin bread
Since the 1970s and 1980s, 4 to 5 elderly people who lived in old villages started to decorate with scrap metal works, and it turned into a craft street and reached what it is today. There are two murals of j-Hope, whose hometown is Gwangju, and they are the only murals in the village that depict a specific person. It was produced with the support of Chinese fans in commemoration of his birthday in 2020. There is a mural near the village cooperative society cafe, so buying penguin bread at the cafe after viewing the mural is popular.

Lee Jang-woo's House (이장우 가옥)

5.6 Km 15223 2021-12-16

21, Yangchon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-607-2333

Designated the first Gwangju Folk Material on March 20, 1989, Lee Jang-woo's House is an upper-class, tile-roofed house with a gate, storeroom, servants’ quarters, detached building, and main building. The building is estimated to have been constructed in 1899 and is overall a sturdy example of Korean architecture, well-preserved in its original state. The L-shaped main hall of the historic building is rather large and consists of (left to right) a wooden verandah, a small room, a hall, the main room, a kitchen, and another small room. The room doors are double doors with a sliding door on the inside and a hinged door on the outside. The hall also has partitions that can be hung up as necessary.

Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Craft Street (양림동 펭귄마을공예거리)

5.7 Km 17 2023-11-28

20-13 Ogiwon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju

Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Craft Street is a narrow alleyway located behind the Yangrim-dong Community Center. The village, named because of the way the elderly residents appear to waddle like penguins, has become an exhibition space of life in the 70s and 80s. Villagers cleaned up empty houses that had been burnt down and left unattended in the past, brought discarded items, and began displaying them on the village walls. "Let's be thankful for living at that time" was engraved on the village wall. It also has historical culture, such as the House of Choe Seunghyo, the House of Missionary Uilsa, and Owen Memorial Hall. The Penguin Jumak in the middle of the village was the residents' gathering place, selling small but necessary items. Various workshops, such as leather workshops, textile workshops, and carpentry workshops, are located on Craft Street, so you can purchase pretty crafts or experience upcycling crafts with a retro vibe in which the historical and the modern coexist.

Yangnim-dong Missionary Cemetery (양림동 선교사 묘지)

5.7 Km 14519 2021-05-28

77, Jejung-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-607-2333

The Yangnim-dong Missionary Cemetery is the final resting place of 23 missionaries who brought Christianity to Gwangju and led the movement to free the nation from under Japanese colonial rule. Yangnim-dong in Gwangju Metropolitan City was the main area in which Priest Bae Yu-ji and Dr. Clement Owen carried out their work as the first missionaries to Jeollanam-do.

Located nearby is a monument dedicated to Priest Bae Yu-ji and the Owen Memorial Building, built in honor of Dr. Owen and his grandfather. Both memorials are cultural assets and particularly prized by locals of the Christian faith.

Missionary Wilson's House (우일선 선교사 사택)

5.9 Km 14512 2019-11-12

20, Jejung-ro 47beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-607-2333

Missionary Wilson’s House is a two-story brick building that sits upon the eastern foothills of Yangnimsan Mountain. Known as the oldest surviving Western-style house in Gwangju, the house is an icon of modern culture and architecture in Korea. The house was built by an American missionary named Wilson in the 1920s (exact date unknown) and was the home of the Wilson family while they stayed in Korea. When the family completed their work in Korea, they sold the house for a very cheap price with the stipulation that the house continued to be used for missionary purposes. The house fell into the possession of the General Assembly of Chonnam Presbyterian Church of Korea in 1986 and now serves as the home office for the Presbyterian Church of Korea.

The square-shaped house consists of a living room, a family room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (1F), several bedrooms (2F), and storage areas and a boiler room (B1). The fact that the entrance of the house faces east is said to be a result of the prevailing architectural culture of Korea at that time. A Netherland-style house built with 55-milimeter thick, gray bricks, the first and second stories are delineated on the exterior with an eye-catching band of bricks.

Uniqlo - Gwangju Yeonje Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (유니클로 광주연제)

6.0 Km 0 2024-04-17

2, Yeonyang-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju

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Gaemagowon (개마고원)

6.0 Km 1 2023-11-23

1094 Sangmu-daero, Seo-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-366-3744

Gaemagowon is a hanu (Korean beef) restaurant that has been serving the Gwangju area for over 20 years. The menu includes a variety of dishes using hanu.

Sigyeongjeong Pavilion (담양 식영정)

6.2 Km 6514 2020-03-23

Jigok-ri, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do
+82-61-380-2811

Designated as the top monument of Jeollanam-do, Sigyeongjeong Pavilion means a place where even the shadow of the moon can find a place to rest. As its name suggests, this pavilion is set in a lush and remote forested area. Countless number of scholars and writers have been attracted to this pavilion as a place of profound inspiration. The pavilion gained more fame from the legendary lyrics of Seongsanbyeolgok written by the poet Jeong Cheol. The elegant words of Kim Seongwon, a literary scholar, depict the scenic beauty of Seongsan Mountain as the seasons change.

Of all the pavilions situated at the basin of the Yeongsangang River the Sigyeongjeong Pavilion is said to be blessed with a breathtaking view from the side. The current building was restored in the early 1900s. At the Sigyeongjeong Pavilion there is the Buyongdang, a monument with the lyrics to the Seongsanbyeolgok Poem, and next to it an old library building called Jangseogak built to preserve the wooden blocks of Songgangjib, a book of poetry written by Jeong Cheol.

Gwangjuho Lake Eco Park (광주호 호수생태원)

6.2 Km 18066 2024-02-29

7 Chunghyosaem-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-613-7891

Gwangjuho Lake Eco Park is an ecological park located near the banks of Gwangjuho Lake, featuring a Nature Observation Center, Nature Learning Center, Lawn Area, and Waterside Wetland. The park is home to around 170,000 wildflowers and over 3,000 trees, offering opportunities to observe various flora and fauna up close. Visitors can witness diverse birds thriving in the wetlands.

Hwanbyeokdang Pavilion (환벽당)

6.4 Km 35594 2023-01-25

10, Hwanbyeokdang-gil, Buk-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-510-1500

Hwanbyeokdang Pavilion was built by Yeongcheonja Sinjam and was also called Byeokgandang, which is recorded in Go Gyeong-myeong's Yuseoseongnok. The building has a hipped-and-gabled roof with three bays in the front space and two bays in the inside space. It is a modified form in which the two rooms in the middle are used as rooms, and the front and right sides are floors. Originally, it was a traditional pavilion, but it seems to have changed to its current form as it was expanded later. A tablet written by Uam Song Si-yeol hangs here, and the poems of Seokcheon Im Eok-ryeong and Jo Ja-i are on a signboard. There are two poems written by Jeong Cheol about Hwanbyeokdang Pavilion, which are published in Songgangsokjip and Gwangjumokji. Jeong Cheol's 4th-generation descendant Jeong Su-hwan bought it from Kim Yun-je's descendants, and Yeon Il-jeong's family is currently managing it.

Penguin Village - Area information - Korea travel information