Top Things to do in Gwangju

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 FUN AND INTERESTING THINGS TO DO IN Gwangju, South Korea

Gwangju isn’t a common destination on most Korean itineraries for the reason that there honestly isn’t much to do there (though, right outside the main bus station, you'll find a really helpful tourist office with maps of local sites to visit!). That region or area is known within Korea for having some of the best food in the country, but as vegetarians we really didn’t get much of a chance to experience it. There is supposed to be one really amazing vegetarian place in Gwangju itself (Naver: http://naver.me/5BSaW5MT), but it’s about an hour (by bus) away from the main bus station so we didn’t end up making the trek there.

Instead, we used Gwangju as a base for a few day trips. Given it’s serviced by an airport, a high speed train station, and a bus station you’ve got pretty much any type of transportation method you could need to explore the southwest region of Korea. One thing to note is that the main bus station is about 30-40 minutes away from the airport. So if you fly in, you’ll need to bus or tram your way to the bus station.

Here are a few of our highlights from Gwangju and some of the day trips we made.

> Big Bros Coffee Roasting - This was a fun little cafe that’s right behind U-Square (the main bus station in Gwangju).  We stayed really close to the bus station and only discovered this place on our last day in Gwangju. We had a few hours to kill, so we posted up at this awesome cafe for a few hours. It’s got a big open space, lots of tables, great coffee and desserts, strong wifi, and really nice staff. They roast their own coffee there and sell little to-go pour over coffee packets in case you want to take some with you. Highly recommend this place if you’re heading to Gwangju! Naver Maps: http://naver.me/FCG1nZ1f



> Damyang Bamboo Festival - This is a small festival that happens in spring (May 1 - 6, 2019). We took a bus to Damyang from Gwangju. It was only about an hour. The festival itself is surrounding the bamboo park. The park also happens to be the primary attraction to see in Damyang. It’s a nice little bamboo forest with some well paved walks and a few dirt walks that take you through the forest. There’s also a few buildings with exhibits on local tea, art, and bamboo. The festival itself is made up mostly of a bunch of food tents. There were some activities as well, but weren’t too accessible to foreigners. It isn't your traditional sort of festival, with a well defined space, signs, information tents, etc. We enjoyed the bamboo park, but next time we probably won’t go during the festival. It’d likely be much quieter and peaceful without the festival crowds.  Website: http://bamboofestival.co.kr/eng/ , Naver Maps: http://naver.me/FtfEZenw



> Boseong Green Tea Festival - This is a more established, well-organized festival that’s about 1.5 hours away from Gwangju. It’s held by one of the biggest tea companies in South Korea. They’ve got a main stage with different performances by local groups, there are a number of food and souvenir vendors, and information-related tents. While the festival was much more organized, online documentation and transportation options weren’t well advertised or translated. Luckily, we ran into a local from Seoul who spoke English at the Boseong bus stop who helped us navigate to the festival and learn more about the activities. At the festival, you can also tour the tea museum which is really well done and try a bunch of different green teas. Naver Maps: http://naver.me/5AFi75ov , Website: http://www.boseong.go.kr/tour/festivity/tea_aroma



> Emart Hypermarket (이마트24) -  This is a bit of a silly one, but it was a lifesaver for us. Right behind the bus station is a giant “hypermarket”. These are multi-story department stores that also include groceries and packaged goods (think Walmart + grocery store). We ended up buying a bunch of groceries and snacks that we then took with us as lunch on our daytrips outside the city. One of the interesting things is that after you buy your groceries, you’re expected to pack them yourself in a box. To facilitate this, they have boxing stations set up after the cashier where you can pick a cardboard box and use the provided tape and scissors to make it and then fill it with your items. Naver Maps: http://naver.me/G9Aj7Woh

As mentioned earlier, we didn’t explore much of Gwangju itself. While it does have some tourist attractions, the biggest appeal for us was its location and all the transportation options to visit other parts of southwestern Korea. And, from that perspective, it did a fantastic job!

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