Gamcheon Culture Village, a hilltop village in Busan’s Saha district, is a tourist hot spot, drawing an increasing number of visitors.
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Camera-toting tourists from Korea and elsewhere explore terraced rows of small houses, painted in pastel colors, and labyrinth-like alleys, with some so narrow only one person can pass at a time.
The town has hidden gems as well -- murals, sculptures, installation art, galleries and eateries.
Among its recent visitors was Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who was in Busan late last month for a summit between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
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Gamcheon’s unique appeal stems from its past of being a ghetto for poor, displaced people after the Korean War (1950-53). It remained a shantytown until 2009, when a project to rejuvenate the village with art was launched.
![](//res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000098_0.jpg)
![](//res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000097_0.jpg)
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The village had been left untouched in the wave of urban renewal projects in the 1980s and 1990s. It had to take a different path, as its steep topography was a bane for the construction of apartment buildings.
Now, Gamcheon is hailed as a model for urban renewal.
“In the past, Gamcheon was a slum. It is located on a steep mountain slope. The village is clean, organized, empowered. Gamcheon Culture Village is a busy tourist destination. It should be an inspiration,” the Indonesian president tweeted after his visit to the village.
Photographed by Park Hyun-koo
Written by Lee Sun-young
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000100_0.jpg)
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000102_0.jpg)
Camera-toting tourists from Korea and elsewhere explore terraced rows of small houses, painted in pastel colors, and labyrinth-like alleys, with some so narrow only one person can pass at a time.
The town has hidden gems as well -- murals, sculptures, installation art, galleries and eateries.
Among its recent visitors was Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who was in Busan late last month for a summit between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000099_0.jpg)
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000103_0.jpg)
Gamcheon’s unique appeal stems from its past of being a ghetto for poor, displaced people after the Korean War (1950-53). It remained a shantytown until 2009, when a project to rejuvenate the village with art was launched.
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000098_0.jpg)
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000097_0.jpg)
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000101_0.jpg)
![](http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2019/12/06/20191206000104_0.jpg)
The village had been left untouched in the wave of urban renewal projects in the 1980s and 1990s. It had to take a different path, as its steep topography was a bane for the construction of apartment buildings.
Now, Gamcheon is hailed as a model for urban renewal.
“In the past, Gamcheon was a slum. It is located on a steep mountain slope. The village is clean, organized, empowered. Gamcheon Culture Village is a busy tourist destination. It should be an inspiration,” the Indonesian president tweeted after his visit to the village.
Photographed by Park Hyun-koo
Written by Lee Sun-young