Eleven o’clock in the afternoon, Nopo-dong area, Geumjeong District….
Finally I got a bus ticket to Seoul. Because bus departed tonight, I decided to continue my exploration in Busan until afternoon. Now I was starting to leave Busan Central Bus Terminal, walking down an integration corridor towards Nopo Station.
Arriving at station, I didn’t have to wait long, Humetro Line 1 (Orange Line) took me to Toesong Station. It was twenty-four stations away. I arrived at destination station in almost an hour.

Exiting west exit of Toesong Station, I then walked down Kkachigogae-ro Avenue. But before going any further, I found a street food which I had been aiming for before leaving for South Korea. Moreover, if it was not Bungeoppang, a street food made from flour and filled with chocolate. The uniqueness of this snack is its fish-shaped appearance which is very cute. I spent 1,000 Won to enjoying it.
I enjoyed a serving Bungeoppang in front of a middle-aged woman seller. Chewing while food was still hot made her laugh at me who was having a hard time chewing. Moments liked this made me always happy when traveling, joking with street food sellers who show their modesty, as they are.
From Kkachigogae-ro Avenue, I changed direction on Haedoji-ro Avenue heading south. The road was still flat, making me cross it with a smile. But I was only two hundred meters from Haedoji-ro Avenue section, because from then on I began to perfectly climb on Ami-ro Avenue.

I began to step at uphill road with a typical road topography, twisting, causing the road span to be longer. It was just that I didn’t want to be embarrassed by some of elderly residents who were nimbly climbing the road. Not even a few middle-aged residents happily jog up the hill. Extraordinary. I had to gasp up at Ami-ro Avenue to keep up with them.
I had walked one and a half kilometers until I finally arrived at the front gate of Gamcheon Culture Village. Meanwhile, it was half past one in the afternoon. Actually there was a public transportation number 2 which could take me from Toesong Station to Gamcheon Culture Village, but I was reluctant to use it, because walking is something that is fun and allows interacting with local residents.


After enjoying the atmosphere at the front gate of Gamcheon Culture Village which was full of art, I began to entering the cultural village which had been intensely given a touch of art since eleven years ago. It’s said that this village can be visited by more than one million tourists every year. Wow, you can imagine the magnitude of economic cycle in this former slum village. The village that used to be just a slum village, where the urban poor live, has now turned into a tourist village with extraordinary income.
The superior level of art has made Gamcheon Culture Village identified as the “Santorini of Korea”. Make Saha District pride, district where this tourist village area is.



Along the main village road, it was easy to find restaurants and cafes which pamper visitors. As far as the eye can see, there was ocean at the end of village when I enjoy its beauty from a house rooftop. Meanwhile, art and souvenir shops were scattered and easy to find.
At a point, I was attracted by one of homeowners who wore crutches at both arms. He told me that he was proud that his house was on the edge of the village’s main road and became an interesting spot for tourists to visit. I and a tourist of Chinese descent from Malaysia were invited to enter to see the interior of his house. Well this was the bonus of my trip.
But my time was so tight, it only took me an hour to walk around village and decided to immediately leave Gamcheon-dong area to go to another destination……