Our third WOW Korea trip this time was to Jeolla Province on the South-West region of South Korea. Our first destination was Gwangju City, around 3-4 hours away by bus from Seoul. Here’s the list of places that we went to in our day there:

Penguin Village (펭귄마을)

This cultural village is one of the most unique villages I’ve seen so far. It’s like an outdoor art museum that uses old unused items. It’s definitely a good place to take hipster photos.

Fun fact: The village is called Penguin Village because the eldest in the village (maybe he isn’t even alive now) walks like a penguin. There is no actual penguins there so don’t be disappointed if you do not see any.

If you have the time, you can also explore the rest of the Yangrim-dong Culture Village right outside the Penguin Village. It’s all located in Yangrim Neighbourhood! The nearest subway station to the village is South Gwangju Station (Nam Gwangju Station). If you need a map reference, here’s the location of the Yangrim Neighbourhood area.

Soswaewon Garden (담양 소쇄원)

Pyeongchon Pottery Workshop

1913 Songjeong Station Market

Our last stop in Gwangju was 1913 Songjeong market. This market has been around since 1913 but recently got a makeover and was reopened earlier this year in April. It’s now a very hipster and trendy hangout place for the youngsters in Gwangju and I would really recommend going here if you are in town.

There are many food options in the market and I think it is better to come at night to see all the beautiful lights while enjoying the warm food. Some of the things my group and I ate were the Samgyeopsal cabbage burito (it wasn’t as fantastic as how it looked), some german Jokbal (Pig feet, super delicious), grilled shrimp on a stick, strawberry mochi and choco pie. We sure had a very fun and stomach-filling night 😀

I really enjoyed our time in Gwangju and it was sad that we only had one day to be there but I was also excited for the next destination in our itinerary: Boseong, Korea’s green tea heaven!