Things to do in Gwangju

Culture · Dong-gu

A vast, mostly underground national arts complex built into and around the old South Jeolla Provincial Office building — the site of the final stand in May 1980.

Local tip: Most visitors do the exhibition halls and miss the point. Start with the preserved Provincial Office annexe on the north side, then go into the galleries; the building's history is what the architecture is arguing with. The library park on the roof is free and the best place in the city to sit at dusk.

Landmark · Buk-gu

The national cemetery for the victims of the 1980 uprising, with an interpretive hall and the original burial ground preserved beside the new one.

Local tip: Go to the old cemetery (구묘역) behind the new one as well — it is where the bodies were first buried in secret and it is far more affecting than the formal memorial. The English signage is good. It is about half an hour from downtown by bus 518, which is named for the date.

Nature · Dong-gu and Buk-gu

The mountain the city is built against, promoted to national park in 2013, with columnar rock formations at the summit ridge that are a designated national natural monument.

Local tip: Ipseokdae and Seoseokdae, the stone columns, are the reason to go, and the summit itself sits inside a military area with only periodic public access — check before you plan around it. Jeungsimsa temple at the base is the usual start and there is a bus straight there from downtown.

Food · Seo-gu

The largest traditional market in the Honam region, a sprawling covered warren where the city's restaurants actually buy their ingredients.

Local tip: The jeon (savoury pancake) alley near the back is what to come for, and it is cheapest and best in the late morning rather than at the tourist hour. Bring cash for the smaller stalls. The market is a short walk from Line 1's Yangdong Market station.

Food · Gwangsan-gu

A street of grilled short-rib patty restaurants beside Gwangju Songjeong KTX station, several of them run by the same families for generations.

Local tip: Order the tteokgalbi with the bone-broth rice soup that comes as a set — locals treat them as one dish. It is directly across from the station, so it is the correct last meal before a train to Seoul, and the adjacent 1913 Songjeong Station Market is worth twenty minutes.

Neighborhood · Nam-gu

The old missionary quarter — 1900s western houses, a hillside of churches and schools, and an alley neighbourhood decorated entirely with salvaged household junk.

Local tip: Penguin Village got its name from how its elderly residents walked, and it is a working neighbourhood rather than an attraction, so keep the noise down. Combine it with the Owen Memorial Hall and the missionary houses ten minutes uphill; almost no visitors to Gwangju find this quarter at all.