9 attractions in Gwangju, including Gwangju Koryoin Village, Gwangju Yangdong Market and Jeungsimsa Temple, Gwangju.
Old towns & squares
광주
Walk into the lanes of Wolgok-dong in Gwangju's Gwangsan district and Cyrillic signs hang right next to Korean ones. Koryoin Village is a community of Koryo-saram, descendants of ethnic Koreans who lived across the former Soviet Union, and…
Other
광주
Stretching along the Gwangjucheon stream, Yangdong Market is counted as the largest traditional market in the Honam region. From fruit and vegetables to ancestral-rite foods, wedding gift platters and fermented skate, locals say there is n…
Churches & monasteries
광주
On the western slopes of Mudeungsan, right where hikers start their climb, stands Jeungsimsa. Founded in the 9th century and burned and rebuilt several times since, the temple is mostly made up of newer halls, yet among them survive the ol…
Historic sites & memorials
광주
On a hillside above a stream at the upper end of Gwangju Lake, in Chunghyo-dong, Buk-gu, stands the small pavilion of Hwanbyeokdang. It is where the mid-Joseon scholar Kim Yun-je taught students after retiring to his home village, and wher…
Historic sites & memorials
광주
The May 18th National Cemetery is the resting place of those who died in, or took part in, the May 18 Democratic Uprising in Gwangju in 1980. On a gentle hillside in Unjeong-dong, Buk-gu, the graves lead up to a memorial tower, a hall of p…
Museums
광주
In 1975 a fisherman's net off Jeungdo Island in Sinan, South Jeolla, brought up a piece of Chinese porcelain. Underwater excavations began the following year and revealed a large trading ship that sank in 1323, along with tens of thousands…
Museums
광주
In the middle of downtown Gwangju, on the site of the former South Jeolla Provincial Office where the May 1980 uprising played out, stands a vast cultural complex. The Asia Culture Center (ACC) puts most of its facilities underground under…
Mountains & peaks
광주
This rounded mountain can be seen from almost anywhere in Gwangju. Near the top stand Seoseokdae and Ipseokdae, rows of stone columns like folding screens; their individual columns are the largest of their kind recorded in South Korea. Mud…
Old towns & squares
광주
On Yangnimsan hill, across the Gwangjucheon stream, red-brick Western houses stand side by side with tiled hanok. When American Southern Presbyterian missionaries settled here in 1904, Yangnim-dong became known as "the Western village" and…