Picture a colorful jumble of house-sized, children’s building blocks randomly stacked up the steep sides of a V-shaped valley, and you have a mental picture of Busan, Korea’s Gamcheon Village. Located in a picturesque valley in the mountainous outskirts of Busan, this unique neighborhood has a fun, artsy vibe, and is one of the city’s cultural hubs and most popular tourist destinations.
Wandering the art-jammed streets and brightly colored alleys; then climbing the rainbow stairways, it’s hard to imagine that this vibrant village started life as a notorious slum. Built in the 1920s and 1930s to house port workers, the area later became home to Korean War refugees in the 1950s, which further exacerbated the poverty and poor living conditions.
Thankfully, in 2009 city government teamed with local artists, students and craftsmen to repair and decorate the dilapidated village with brightly colored folk art. And what was initially a squalid, overcrowded eyesore was reborn as the now-famous Gamcheon Cultural Village.
In addition to hill-hugging rows of eye-catching houses, art galleries, hanbok rentals, craft-clogged gift shops, and flashy murals, there’s a hillside community vegetable garden, and art center/coffee shop staffed by volunteers. All of which show the willingness of residents to invest their own energy in the community.
The transformation is astounding, but of course, it didn’t happen overnight. Gamcheon Village serves as a shining example of what can be accomplished with the right amount of government organization and like-minded people willing to step up to make positive changes. It’s a part of Busan’s history and culture that we didn’t know about, and at a time of conflict in the world it’s an affirmation that most people just want a pleasant, safe place to live and some communities are willing to put in the effort to make it happen.
Happy Trails,
James & Terri
Visitor’s Tips: Stop at the welcome center for a map which highlights routes and important art in the village. It’s a big area with a maze of streets, and unless getting lost is your thing, you’ll appreciate the guidance.
Getting there: The village is a little tricky to get to, so page to the very end of this informative post for good instructions on how to get to the village. Or, an organized tour is always an option.
Photo Credits: 1. Sean Lee
GALLIVANCE 
What a brilliant idea. I adore the colurs and the apparent pride people take in their community. All it takes is a dream, willingness of people to do some work, and things are transformed.
You’re so right Yvonne. This is a tourist area for sure, but one thing that struck me is that “real” people live there, and when the tourists go home, someone is taking really good care of the place – and much of this has to be the residents. ~James
You’ve stirred the travel bug again! Where did you stay in Busan? I can fly from Melbourne to Busan, and maybe there’s enough in that one city to keep me well occupied for a decent time. I had better think about renewing my passport. 🙂
Yvonne, we stayed in the Seomyeon area, which is sort of a business-y area, but it was convenient for the metro and had all we needed. The area near the beach is a big tourist area with lots of hotels and tourist facilities if that appeals. Busan has a very good metro so that makes a big difference, and flying directly there and avoiding Seoul will make it much easier. ~James
What an amazing project. Proof it can be done. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Darlene, I’ve seen photos of some of the refugee housing here before the project, and like most slums, the conditions were horrid. This was our first opportunity to visit an area transformed like this, and it was heartening. ~James
Such initiative has been carried out in multiple cities across the world. But what I can see, and from your explanation, Gamcheon Village sounds like a real success story. In many cities the transformation is usually limited to painting the houses in bright, vivid colors. However, when you said there are art galleries and a community vegetable garden in this part of Busan, it seems like the South Korean city really know what they’re doing.
Bama, this is our first visit to a slum upgrading project, and is this case city government and the residents seem to have hit on the perfect formula. I can imagine that residents would be much more excited about basic necessities first before vivid paint, but I’m sure that it’s a very complex project to plan, finance, and bring to fruition. And if a clean-up and paint helps kick-start the effort that would be a good thing. ~James
It’s such a great question: why is it that some communities are transformed into beautiful, vibrant places while others, even with 4 helping hands go from bad to worse?
This is certainly well beyond my pay grade, but I’m sure there are many city-planner types out there who would like a set of hard and fast rules that always work. However, I’m sure it has to be a long-term, multi-faceted approach which addresses basic necessities, the physical improvement of the community, and many of the social aspects that get and maintain resident involvement. Interesting question. ~James
Such a heartwarming project, a great success of government and community collaboration. Loving all the colours and the artsy feel of this place, definitely a wonderful transformation.
I have never been to South Korea and would love to visit, perhaps combine it with a trip to Japan also like you guys have done.
Gilda, we really enjoyed our time in S. Korea, and was particularly impressed with the kindness of the people. Tourists aren’t always welcomed in some places these days, but there were a few times in Busan that the locals went out of their way to help – always a good sign.
BTW, Terri mentioned that you and Brian recently saw “Tina.” We saw it some months ago and really enjoyed it as well. On our recent trip to Scandinavia we made a quick stop in London to see Mrs. Doubtfire: wonderful and highly recommended. Hope you and Brian are well. ~James
What an amazing project! And I absolutely love all the colour.
Hannah, this is one of those feel-good projects that can’t help but bring a smile to your face. And I’m a sucker for folk art because of its wild use of bright colors. ~James
Very cool! I’ve heard of Busan and would love to visit there when I make my husband go back to Seoul (I loved it; he did not when he went in the ’90s), but I had never heard of this village/project. If we ever get there, I’ll add it to the list!
Lexie, we had just been to Tokyo so we gave Seoul a miss. Our itinerary was Tokyo, bullet train to Kyoto, short hop over to Busan. Busan is considerably smaller and more relaxed than Seoul, which is precisely what we needed at the time. Don’t miss Gamcheon. ~James
Oh this is gorgeous. Definitely my kind of place. One day I will get the South Korea!
Thanks for brightening my day.
Alison
Alison, I’m sure in your travels you’ve seen slums, so you can imagine what a delightful transformation this is. When you make it to S. Korea, I recommend a stop in Busan. It was a pleasant surprise for us. ~James
Wow, what a transformation. Not only in looks but sounds like it was good for the people who live there too. Maggie
Maggie, Gamcheon Village is the perfect example of win-win. We’ve seen photos of the village pre-project and it was dismal. The encouraging thing is that they didn’t just slap on a coat of paint, but they seemed to have addressed a lot of the quality of life issues that people want and need. I’m sure it was a huge effort, and kudos to all the folks involved. All the best for a fun and relaxing 2024, and thanks for continuing to follow along. ~James
We didn’t go to Busan which looks quite interesting. We spent about 6 days in Seoul which there was plenty to see. Also we went at start of monsoon season, however rain and humidity is similar to southern Ontario.
Jean, as I said in the post, we had just spent time in Tokyo and we needed a break from huge cities. I’m sure that Seoul has a ton of things to do, and maybe we can visit on the next trip through that part of the world. ~James
Didn’t manage to visit Gamcheon Village while we were in Busan – definitely need to go back after seeing this! Amazing coverage and great pics! I love the colours.
Thanks for the comment Callie and for dropping by the blog. From the early days of planning the Busan trip Gamcheon was on our list. It sounded funky and fun, and actually, it exceeded our expectations. If you get back to Busan, it’s highly recommended. ~James
It’s definitely top of the list of things to see when we go back! So I’m thankful to see such high praise 😊 Glad you had a great time there!