Exploring Gamcheon, Busan’s Most Colorful Neighborhood

If a child ever dumped a toy box of brightly colored Legos into a steep mountain ravine, it might look something like Gamcheon Culture Village. Up close, the blocks turn into a dense mix of homes stacked along haphazard alleys — a dizzying pedestrian playground that may be the most playful neighborhood in Korea.

Thousands of pretty paper lanterns hang over the main street, illuminating the gentle flowing path like a curving river down the mountainside. Hundreds of narrow passageways — short alleys, tight footpaths and twisted downward steps — are laced together in a slanted labyrinth that begs visitors to take a detour and plunge into the mystery of Gamcheon.

The dramatic geography makes it almost impossible to get lost, but no matter where I wander, I see something new and surprising.

The range of colors is astonishing: solid little houses painted turquoise and lavender, cobalt blue with neon yellow trim, brick red with white trim, rust orange next door to kelly green, or rose pink next to tangerine. Gamcheon, about eight miles from Busan, seems like a busy little paint box with an infinite palette, topped with metal roofs of blue, green, orange, and silver.

Even the smallest spaces are alive with color, decoration and growing bits of nature. Rooftop gardens flourish with potted plants and bursting flowers, growing year-round in the mild climate of Busan, Korea’s second largest city.

Building for the good of the many

The quirky charm of today’s Gamcheon harks back to an urban history as unique as these unruly terraces. The steep ravine was first colonized in 1918 by several thousand followers of the Taekgeukdo (a syncretic religious movement vaguely linked to Taoism). Together, they built the nearly vertical village according to their beliefs and with strong community traditions.

When the Korean conflict ended in 1955, a new wave of refugees arrived and constructed a working hive of small cubic homes that cling to the slopes. In the spirit of equality, no house blocks the view of any other house so the resulting cityscape follows the curving contours like an organized jumble of rainbow-colored blocks.    

Elsewhere, such an adorable neighborhood as Gamcheon might be rapidly gentrified into condos or a gaudy shopping complex. Bu the city of Busan has nobler priorities. To preserve the rich life of these narrow, twisted streets, residents and local artists joined forces with religious leaders and city government to create the “Gamcheon Culture Village.”

The new designation represents a blend of artistic promotion with strong social programs that directly benefit elderly residents. Considerate tourists are welcome to explore the colorful canyon of pastel homes and lantern-lit streets — and all are encouraged to participate in the artistic expression and interactive fun.

A feast of fish

Today’s Gamcheon is a crucible of creativity with more than a hundred artists’ workshops, as well as multiple design studios, funky craft shops and more street art than you can discover on any given day. With every few steps, my eyes catch the beautiful art installations (big and small) that fill the brick walls and concrete corners.

The immense outdoor art gallery is an open invitation to explore, and I loved stumbling into each piece on my own. My favorite was the magnificent “fish,” compiled from hundreds of decorated scrap boards, “swimming” down Jin Yeong Seop alley.

Social media and mobile technology add a sharable dimension to Gamcheon, where you’ll find abundant interactive stations for creative selfies and opportunities to expand the imagination with unique settings, inclduing a cartoonish red lighthouse or a multi-story open-air house dedicated to “The Little Prince.”

But Gamcheon is not some childish amusement park. Some of the biggest names in Korea’s avant-garde architecture community have added their own original signature to Gamcheon. Seung H-Sang’s “Tower of Solo Pleasure” features a pyramid roof built from thousands of uniform wooden slats, and it becomes an ever-changing temple of natural light. Like Gamcheon itself, the architecture is experiential.

Going with the flow in Gamcheon

Taking part in the unexpected fun sets Gamcheon apart from traditional museums or tourist attractions. The working, breathing neighborhood is still home to a few thousand long-established residents who are living their daily lives as part of the whimsical spectacle.

On a Sunday afternoon, I watched South Korean families casually float down the promenade, taking pictures, watching a street performer, pulling fortunes from a wooden vending machine or stopping to explore the incredible street food.

Gamcheon’s sense of wonder spills over into the treats on offer, from clear-jelly “glass” cakes to soft-serve ice cream cones whose flavors are as varied as cantaloupe and black licorice. Young people bite into fluffy balls of cotton candy, whirled into the shape of a bunny rabbit or dinosaur. I quickly lose count of the cute teahouses and cozy coffee shops that seem wedged into the precipitous slopes, filling the street with sweet aromas. I was finally conquered by the traditional Korean donuts, which are as different and dainty as the adorable houses of Gamcheon.

The marvelous blend of old and new adds to the rare magic of these tiny streets. Walking past groups of laughing local teenagers chatting with elderly residents, I see people dressed in the traditional hanbok (national dress). I also visit the hwahyejang — the only remaining Korean shoemaker in Busan, who employs ancient techniques in stitching traditional footwear from dyed silk.

Preserving some of the country’s oldest art forms is part of the lifestyle in the tucked-away hillside of Gamcheon—a stark contrast to the ultra-modern, skyscraper-high city of Busan with its 3.5 million people.

Good travel tends to shatter stereotypes, and a few minutes in Gamcheon will disprove any notion that Korean culture is merely circumspect and reserved. Quite the contrary.

Gamcheon offers a reminder that life is fun and full of color. And, just like life, beauty and joy can flow out of the ups and downs, abundant diversity, and the freedom of individual expression. In this way, Gamcheon remains true to its Taoist roots, inviting everyone to walk their own path, make their own turns, and follow the invisible flow of the senses.

Above all, Gamcheon celebrates the idea of finding the balance in asymmetry, and that humans, with their art and engineering, are as much a part of nature as this confetti-strewn village at the edge of a mountain with the blue ocean that shines on the horizon.