Yangnim-dong Penguin Village양림동 펭귄마을

At a glance

Penguin Village is a knot of narrow lanes behind the Yangnim-dong community center in Gwangju, named for elderly residents whose slow, waddling walk on bad knees looked like a penguin's. When fire left some houses empty, neighbors cleared them and decorated the walls with cast-off clocks, pots and frames, so the 1970s–80s streetscape became an open-air exhibit. Today the craft street has leather, textile and woodworking studios offering upcycling classes, and Yangnim-dong's modern heritage houses, such as the Choi Seung-hyo House and Owen Memorial Hall, are nearby.

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Yangnim-dong Penguin Village · 1 tours & tickets

1. KKdayGwangju artistic day tour from Seoul or BusanA 12-hour day trip from Seoul or Busan to Gwangju: Yangnim-dong's hanok and century-old church, Penguin Village, a pojangmacha street and an evening walk among the lights.Book

Places to stay nearby

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Map

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Tips

• 01
  Go Tuesday to Sunday if you want to see the workshops, since they close on Mondays.

Nearby

Asia Culture CenterGwangju's national center for Asian arts, opened in 2015 beside the site of the 1980 uprising, with exhibitions, performances and open plazas.5·18 Democracy SquareThe fountain square in front of the old South Jeolla Provincial Office, the heart of Gwangju's May 1980 democratic uprising.Soswaewon GardenA 16th-century scholar's garden in Damyang, laid out along a stream with pavilions, bamboo and stone walls, and still kept by the founder's descendants.Muwol VillageA quiet farming village in Damyang with stone-wall lanes, a pine-wood trail, hanok stays and hands-on country experiences.