Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Craft Street (양림동 펭귄마을공예거리)

10.5Km 2025-10-24

92-8 Baekseo-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju

Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Craft Street is a narrow alleyway located behind the Yangnim-dong Community Center. The village, named because of the way the elderly residents appear to waddle like penguins, has become an exhibition space of life in the 70s and 80s. Villagers cleaned up empty houses that had been burnt down and left unattended in the past, brought discarded items, and began displaying them on the village walls. "Let's be thankful for living at that time" was engraved on the village wall. It also has historical culture, such as the House of Choe Seunghyo, the House of Missionary Uilsa, and Owen Memorial Hall. The Penguin Jumak in the middle of the village was the residents' gathering place, selling small but necessary items. Various workshops, such as leather workshops, textile workshops, and carpentry workshops, are located on Craft Street, so you can purchase pretty crafts or experience upcycling crafts with a retro vibe in which the historical and the modern coexist.

Art Polygon Horanggassinamu (호랑가시나무 아트폴리곤)

10.6Km 2025-02-04

22 Jejung-ro 47beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju

Located in Yangnim-dong, Art Polygon Horanggasinamu is a multi-purpose cultural space that hosts various programs such as exhibitions, lectures, and performances. In 2021, it was used as one of the venues for the Gwangju Biennale. The space was created by preserving and expanding the original structure of a missionary's garage. Yangnim-dong is home to many modern historical cultural heritage sites and art galleries that connects the past and the present.

Missionary Wilson's House (우일선 선교사 사택)

10.6Km 2025-10-23

20 Jejung-ro 47beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-607-2333

Missionary Wilson’s House is a two-story brick building that sits upon the eastern foothills of Yangnimsan Mountain. Known as the oldest surviving Western-style house in Gwangju, the house is an icon of modern culture and architecture in Korea. The house was built by an American missionary named Wilson in the 1920s (exact date unknown) and was the home of the Wilson family while they stayed in Korea. When the family completed their work in Korea, they sold the house for a very cheap price with the stipulation that the house continued to be used for missionary purposes. The house fell into the possession of the General Assembly of Chonnam Presbyterian Church of Korea in 1986 and now serves as the home office for the Presbyterian Church of Korea.

The square-shaped house consists of a living room, a family room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (1F), several bedrooms (2F), and storage areas and a boiler room (B1). The fact that the entrance of the house faces east is said to be a result of the prevailing architectural culture of Korea at that time. A Netherland-style house built with 55-milimeter thick, gray bricks, the first and second stories are delineated on the exterior with an eye-catching band of bricks.

◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm - TV series "Hymn of Death"
Here, Woo-jin (played by Lee Jong Suk), Sim-deok (played by Shin Hye-sun), and their troupe rehearsed for their play in "Hymn of Death." The Western-style building, framed by a lush forest backdrop, offers an exotic and picturesque setting.

Arie-ne guesthouse (아리네 게스트하우스)

10.7Km 2024-12-13

6 , Cheonbyeonjwa-ro 428beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-10-2104-8899

Ariene Guesthouse is an integrated cultural platform located in Yangrim-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju. The accomodation is located in the downtown area of Gwangju, making it both easily accessible and affordable. On the first basement floor, there is Yanglim Culture Hall, a lounge cafe on the first floor, and a rooftop party room on the fourth floor. The guesthouse has nine rooms on the second and third floors, including double rooms, twin rooms, ondol rooms, and separate dormitory rooms for men and women. Each room is equipped with a bathroom for guests' convenience, and breakfast is provided at no charge. A fee is charged for laundry services. There are modern cultural and historic sites nearby.

Lee Jang-woo's House (이장우 가옥)

10.7Km 2025-10-23

21 Yangchon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-651-9020

Designated the first Gwangju Folk Material on March 20, 1989, Lee Jang-woo's House is an upper-class, tile-roofed house with a gate, storeroom, servants’ quarters, detached building, and main building. The building is estimated to have been constructed in 1899 and is overall a sturdy example of Korean architecture, well-preserved in its original state. The L-shaped main hall of the historic building is rather large and consists of (left to right) a wooden verandah, a small room, a hall, the main room, a kitchen, and another small room. The room doors are double doors with a sliding door on the inside and a hinged door on the outside. The hall also has partitions that can be hung up as necessary.

◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm - movie "Meet the In-Laws"
This hanok served as Hyeon-joon’s (played by Song Sae-byeok) family home in Jeolla-do in the movie "Meet the In-Laws." With its well-preserved architecture and traditional Korean garden, it captures the elegance and charm of early modern Korea.

Mimiwon (미미원)

10.7Km 2024-12-03

광주광역시 동구 백서로 218

Emerging as a leading spot for yukjeon (Pan-fried Battered Beef) in Gwangju, Mimiwon has gained popularity through multiple media features. The restaurant’s traditional hanok building creates a neat atmosphere.

Obang Choi Heung-jong Memorial Hall (오방 최흥종 기념관)

10.7Km 2024-12-17

64 Jejung-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju

Obang Choi Heung-jong Memorial Hall is dedicated to Rev. Obang Choi Heung-jong who was also a Korean independence fighter and a social activist. His lifetime of sacrificing for others while improving the Gwangju neighborhood made him a true hero. Visitors to the memorial hall can deeply understand the life that Obang Choi Hueng-jong lead.

Han Hee-won Art Museum (한희원미술관)

10.7Km 2023-01-25

27-6, Yangchon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-653-5435

Han Hee-won Art Museum is a small hanok art museum in the back alley of Yangnim-dong.
Painter Han Hee-won grew up in Yangnim-dong, where he was influenced as a painter. In July 2015, he purchased a small hanok between the House of Yi Jang-u and the House of Choe Seunghyo and transformed it into an art museum to preserve and show the spirit of love, comfort, and art in his hometown, Yangnim-dong. An art museum with a low threshold approaching citizens with a humble mind, Han Hee-won Art Museum is open to anyone. Feel free to visit, appreciate the paintings, and be comforted through art.

Yangnim Art Center (양림미술관)

10.7Km 2024-11-20

70 Jejung-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju

Yangnim Art Center takes its name from its location in Yangnim-dong, the center of modern history and culture. Designed in hanok style, the building features exhibition rooms on each floor, offering both artists and visitors a creative space to connect and immerse themselves in the art.

House of Choi Seung-hyo (최승효가옥)

10.8Km 2023-03-08

29-4, Yangchon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-607-2332

The House of Choi Seung-hyo is a traditional residential building located on the southeastern slopes of Yangnimsan Mountain. The rectangular building is open to the east, has 8 kan (the space between two pillars) in the front and 4 kan to the sides, and is graced by a traditional hipped and gabled roof. Since the building was constructed in the 1920s, it offers a valuable glimpse into the architectural style of Korean houses at the end of the Japanese colonial period. Choi Sang-hyeon was an activist who offered his attic as a place of refuge for other activists.

Yangnim-dong Penguin Village Craft Street (양림동 펭귄마을공예거리) - Area information - Korea travel information