Where to Take Photos at the Colorful Gamcheon Culture Village (감천문화마을) | BUSAN

Side view of Gamcheon Culture Village

Want to take some picturesque sceneries in Busan, South Korea? With some colorful backgrounds and winding paths on a beautiful sunny day? Here is a colorful village where you can see and experience Korean culture! This village is perfect for walking and enjoying a scenic route.

Wall painting of Homer Simpson on our walk to the entrance of Gamcheon Culture Village

Let’s experience a bit of history and culture here! It’s the best thing to do when you visit a place for the first time, in my opinion. You’ll understand the local place and people more. The first stop of day three in Busan was the Gamcheon Culture Village (감천문화마을). The village is known as the “Santorini of Korea”. You can easily see the similarities between both places. From the top view of Santorini of Greece and Busan in South Korea, the vibrant buildings will be the first to catch your eyes. The view is full of colorful houses and coffee shops on a hill with winding alleys.

Gamcheon Culture Village entrance

Everywhere you look, you will spot something bright in color. We tried to get a good view of all the colorful buildings from the rooftop. Led by our group leader, we went through an alleyway and up the steps to a rooftop!

pink alleyway leading to a door to the rooftop
view from a rooftop

There are so many cute shops! Some of them are easy to miss because they are hidden and tucked away in an alley. There are souvenir shops and galleries you can go to. The whole village is an art gallery!

colorful buildings and architecture
an artsy street
“Mini Busan” souvenir shop
another alleyway of shops

You can explore the Gamcheon Culture Village for free. You can also expect to spend about one to two hours here. Depending on what you discover to do here, you could plan to spend a day here! Most tourists come here to take photos and I agree it is a must to visit here for that! I would recommend coming in the morning on a weekday because the area does get pretty crowded on the weekends and holidays! There are some spots where you can stand and get a full view of colorful buildings. Some people even create a line for that. But I did not want to wait in line for a shot of the most popular view. Instead, I explored and found other spots to take photos at. They may not be the best view but you can still get a good view of the colorful background.

At the end of an alley, we spotted a hotteok stall! Hotteok (호떡) is a Korean pancake usually filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped peanuts. The Busan-style hotteok is filled with seeds. I personally prefer this kind compared to Seoul’s. The seeds add extra flavor and texture to it! They are a great snack as we continued to walk and sightsee the rest of the area.

hotteok at Gamcheon Culture Village
Busan hotteok: filled with seeds

They are usually very cheap too! About USD$1 to $2 per hotteok. Also, watch out on your first bite because they are piping hot! So, hotteok stalls are usually out during winter as a winter street food that can warm you up!

Is the Gamcheon Culture Village a place you would want to visit? Let me know in the comments!

Sincerely,
Amy

AMY HANG IN BUSAN. Day 3.