Busan's Gamcheon district attracts tourists with its colourful houses clinging to steep hillsides and streets winding down the hillside.

Explore alleyways filled with souvenir shops and cafes, as well as romantic backstreets completely devoid of people. Gamcheon is the perfect place for a morning outing, where the colourful houses are best lit by the sun.

From slum to tourist attraction

Today, Gamcheon may be one of Busan's most popular tourist spots, but it wasn't always so. In the 1920s, a decision was made to move the poorest residents out of the city centre and into the newly built Gamcheon social district.

A location was chosen just over the pass so that Gamcheon would not be in plain sight, but also so that its residents could commute daily to work at the Pusan port. During the first half of the 20th century, Gamcheon was more of a slum and was avoided by the general population.

It wasn't until the turn of the millennium that the city council decided to invest massively and redevelop Gamcheon into an art and cultural hub for Busan, with plenty of street-art galleries and workshops.

Where to go in Gamcheon?

The village of Gamcheon is extremely hilly, so we recommend taking the bus to the highest point (see stop on map) and gradually working your way down the winding streets. It practically doesn't matter how far you go, as the main road winds along the entire district with buses that you can hop back on at any time.

Gamcheon's main tourist street is called Gamnae 2-ro.

Gamcheon

Transport to Gamcheon

Although on the map it may look like Gamcheon is close to the centre, we definitely recommend using public buses. The road to Gamcheon is really uphill...

Buses run from the Jagalchi metro station on the orange line 1. The stop of the small green buses of lines 1, 1-1 and 2-2 that go to Gamcheon is located in Bosu-daero street (location on the map). The bus ride from the metro takes about 10-15 minutes.

All lines continue on the other side to Goejeong subway station of the same orange line.