Best things to do in Gwangju, South Korea, from viral food trends to architecture

On game days, queues outside a rice cake shop near Gwangju Songjeong Station can stretch more than 50 metres (164ft), a familiar scene that even local taxi drivers anticipate, often naming the destination before passengers finish asking. “In my whole life, it is my first time seeing people line up like this at a rice cake shop,” one taxi driver says. The draw is pumpkin injeolmi, a sticky rice cake from the bakery Changeok Tteok that has become a viral sensation, drawing crowds rivalling the craze for the Dubai chewy cookie. Yet, while domestic tourists travel across the country for this long-time local favourite, the true appeal of Gwangju – home to the Gwangju World Cup Stadium and the Gwangju-Kia Champions Field baseball stadium – reveals itself in the quiet, unhurried neighbourhoods just beyond the bakery queues. Here, the buzz of viral food trends serves as a gateway to the city’s true draw: a quiet dedication to rich architectural heritage and back-to-basics culinary craftsmanship. In the historic centre, the neighbourhoods of Yangnim-dong in Nam district and Dongmyeong-dong in Dong district offer a patchwork of modernised hanoks – traditional Korean homes – and contemporary craft streets. Here, the city’s culinary focus shifts from viral volume to historic preservation. At Hoyang Horim, a traditional cafe in Yangnim-dong, young bamboo sways against a tiled fence in the garden of a remodelled L-shaped hanok. Visitors sit on a traditional wooden bench, drinking speciality pour-over coffee with gaeseong juak, a traditional fried dough sweet that is crisp on the outside and rich with grain syrup inside. The cafe also serves tiramisu and seasonal shaved ice from traditional earthen pots. In Dongmyeong-dong, Teasoha is a minimalist, black-and-white space accented with bonsai trees and white porcelain. The teahouse is anchored by a traditional teapot set featuring a large leaf-shaped strainer, where patrons time their own white, green, black or oolong tea with an hourglass. Orders are accompanied by traditional snacks of dried fruits, nuts and sugar-free, handmade yanggeng, a sweet bean jelly served in chestnut, matcha and white varieties. The menu also includes fruit matcha parfaits, peach white tea cocktails and whiskey black tea cocktails. Nearby, Mulheureudeut takes a back-to-basics approach to coffee. The cafe operates without an espresso machine, serving only hand-drip coffee from a rotation of two speciality beans: one decaf and one standard roast. It takes up a space occupied by two former businesses – a cleaner’s repurposed into a cosy attic, and a supermarket transformed into an airy lounge complete with an awning and camping chairs. Beyond the cafe culture, Gwangju retains a rich architectural heritage. Built in 1935, Gwangju Cinema in Dong district is the oldest single-screen cinema in South Korea, and the second oldest overall after Incheon’s Ae Kwan Theatre. During the Japanese colonial period, it was the only cinema operating in the Korean commercial district – Chungjang-ro 1-ga and 3-ga were Japanese districts – functioning as a hub for pansori (traditional Korean singing with a drum) performances, traditional operas and local organising. Heavily rebuilt after a 1968 fire, the building and its outer lobby retain a 1970s aesthetic. The heavy wooden interiors complement faded promotional materials written in a clunky, classic stencil typeface. Inside the 856-seat screening room, the cinema still features an original Japanese police inspection seat used to monitor audiences and a film projector for screenings once a week. In Yangnim-dong, architectural history takes the shape of a grass-roots effort at Penguin Village. Following a 2013 fire that destroyed a home in the ageing neighbourhood, 73-year-old resident Kim Dong-gyun began filling the empty lots with art assembled from discarded everyday objects. Today, the village’s 30 tightly packed homes are covered in wall clocks and intricate scrap-metal fish with butane-gas caps for eyes and drinks cans for scales. Named for the waddling gait of the elderly residents who helped build it, the alleyway draws 200,000 visitors annually. In 2019, municipal offices bought nearby hanoks to establish a dedicated craft street featuring a dozen workshops. Just 100 metres away, Lee Jang-woo’s House offers a sharp contrast to the dense folk art of Penguin Village. Built in 1899 by local figure Jeong Byeong-ho and bought in 1965 by regional educator Lee Jang-woo – founder of Donggang College, Dongshin University and Gwangju Dongshin middle and high schools – the late-Joseon tile-roofed mansion features a front gate, storehouse, servants’ quarters and men’s and women’s quarters. Surrounded by Western-style garden trees, the inner quarters are open to the public during the day. The surrounding streets hold the traditional Choi Seung-hyo Old House and the colonial-era Western masonry of the Owen Memorial Hall – situated between the Christian College of Nursing and Gwangju Yangnim Church. Interiors are accessible only through guided tours. For photography enthusiasts, the World Camera Film Museum in Dongmyeong-dong displays rare equipment, opening its doors exclusively on Saturdays. Read the full article in The Korea Times.

Best things to do in Gwangju, South Korea, from viral food trends to architecture

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Gwangju is known for its fine architecture, including traditional Korean hanok houses, as well as its cafes and a certain sticky rice cake

Gwangju is known for its fine architecture, including traditional Korean hanok houses, as well as its cafes and a certain sticky rice cake