Korea Trip 2022: Gwangju, the Spirit of Revolution
I’d only ever heard about Gwangju in the context of the 1980 uprising, in which citizens - from May 18 to May 27 - rose against then-military dictator 전두환 (Chun Doo-hwan) before government troops brutally suppressed them (Chun, by the way, never expressed remorse before his death in 2021). When planning my trip through Korea’s southern regions, I decided to visit the city because it had such a significant role in shaping the country. I spent almost five days in Gwangju, but I actually didn’t spend a lot of time there, as I went on day trips to places elsewhere in the Jeolla region. On those days, I would normally return to Gwangju in the mid-to-late afternoon, so from there, I was able to explore the city. Below, I’ve listed the places I went to by their corresponding district, organized by sights and restaurants.
서구 (Seo-gu)
On my first morning in Gwangju, I had some time to kill before my bus left for my first day trip, so I walked over to 5.18기념공원 (May 18th Memorial Park) | Naver link from my Airbnb. This park is quite large, and since the facilities I wanted to check out were at its north end, I walked on one of the park’s three-block-long paths to get there. The culture center looked like it wasn’t open yet, so I headed over to the park’s centerpiece: a sculpture of three defiant protestors, one injured but supported by the other two. Behind them are a series of metal rods reaching up to the sky, and there’s even a flight of stairs leading down to a room memorializing those who died during the uprising. What surprised me was the number of names on the memorial wall; I knew there was going to be a lot, but I didn’t realize that there would be this many. There is no universally accepted death toll for the uprising, as the government’s official figures have been criticized for being too low; some reports put the number as being at least ten times higher than those figures. There are several more memorial sculptures and spaces at the park, and after viewing them, I left with a sadness for those whose lives were taken then.
I arrived in Gwangju from Suncheon, and my bus dropped me off at 광주종합버스터미널 (유.스퀘어) [U.Square (Gwangju Bus Terminal)] | Naver link, which I became closely acquainted with since this is where I would come for most of my day trips as well as my final departure from the city. I’ve been to a couple bus terminals during my time in Korea, and this one was by far the nicest one. Buying bus tickets at the electronic kiosks is straightforward (there are English language options available), and the waiting areas are quite spacious. This one even has direct access to the Shinsegae Department Store right next door. Best of all, there are a lot of food options spread out across the first and second floors, and I took advantage of them almost every time I was here, as you’ll see below.
I’ve seen the famous Colonel’s fried chicken several times during my stay in Korea, and even though I much prefer Popeye’s in the U.S., I was too curious to pass up on trying KFC overseas. So, for my last meal in Gwangju, I went to KFC 광주터미널유스퀘어점 (KFC Gwangju Terminal U-Square Branch) | Naver link and ordered the 맵단하네로치킨 (sweet and spicy habanero chicken), 콘찡어바이트 (squid bites), and 코울슬로 (cole slaw), which cost ₩14,600 ($10.22). This chicken flavor and squid bites are definitely not sold in the U.S., so those were no-brainers for me to order. As for the slaw, that’s typically my go-to side when eating fast food fried chicken. The chicken had some decent heat to it, but otherwise tasted fine. The squid bites were battered and fried nicely, making for a lovely snack. The slaw, on the other hand, tasted uncomfortably sweet - even sweeter than its U.S. counterpart! While I thought my meal was solid overall, I didn’t instill in me the desire to eat at a Korean KFC again.
The terminal has a food court near its main entrance, and I saw plenty of people come here, especially during the mornings. After assessing my options, I went up to 명인만두 광주유스퀘어점 (Myung In Dumplings Gwangju U-Square Branch) | Naver link and ordered the 모둠만두 세트1 (assorted dumplings set 1), which cost ₩7,000 ($4.90). Myung In can actually be found in the U.S., and while my go-to there has always been the fist-sized 왕만두 (king dumplings), I’ve never had the smaller dumplings. My order included three meat dumplings, three kimchi dumplings, four galbi dumplings, and two chili pepper dumplings. They were all very juicy and delicious, and they very much exceeded the value I got them for.
There was a small line of people at 파파도나스 유스퀘어점 (Papa Donuts U-Square Branch) | Naver link near one of the waiting areas and, after looking at their available options, I got in line too. I bought the 딸기크런치 크림도넛 (strawberry cream and crumble donut) for ₩3,200 ($2.24). The donut itself is a fairly standard sugar-coated one, but what made it a good snack in my book were the strawberry cream and the crumbles, which seemed like pieces of dehydrated strawberries.
For my first dinner in the city, I went to 나나방콕 상무본점 (Nana Bangkok Sangmu Branch) | Naver link after searching on Naver for well-reviewed restaurants somewhat near my Airbnb. The restaurant was completely full when I arrived - proof of its popularity among the locals and tourists. I put my name on the waitlist, and there were a few parties ahead of me. After being seated about 15 minutes later, I perused through the menu on the table’s electronic tablet. I was pretty hungry, so I ordered the 마늘칩 닭날개 (garlic chip chicken wings) and 슈림프팟타이 (shrimp pad thai), and the total came out to ₩19,000 ($13.36). The chicken was nicely seasoned and crisp, and the garlic chips added welcome layers of flavor and texture. The pad thai was cooked well, though I think it could have been seasoned more to hold its own against some of the other ones I’ve had back in the U.S.
I broke out the good ol’ Naver search again for my last dinner in the city, and it led me to 소코아 상무점 (Sokoa Sangmu Branch) | Naver link, part of a restaurant chain that specializes in curry. All of the items on their menu intrigued me, so it made sense for me to order the 소코아 카레 (Sokoa curry), a plate containing three kinds of curry, each in its own “bowl” of rice, and a salad with corn sauce dressing. The curries included the 토리카레 (spicy chicken curry), 키마카레 (Keema curry - ground pork and onions) topped with a raw egg, and 에비카레 (ebi curry - shrimp). This dish cost ₩15,000 ($10.50). All three curries (and the salad) were quite tasty, and of the curries, the spicy chicken was my favorite, as it packed the most flavor.
While walking back to my Airbnb from Sokoa, I came across a food truck called 불타눈 닭꼬치 (Fire Burning Chicken Skewer). The smell of cooking chicken wafting from the truck was intoxicating, so I stopped and ordered a single skewer with 양념치킨맛 (sweet and spicy flavor) for ₩4,000 (estimated $2.77). It came out nice and hot, and it turned out to be a terrific, tangy snack for me to munch on during this chilly night.
동구 (Dong-gu)
To get a thorough understanding of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising as well as the events leading to and after, I recommend a visit to the 5.18민주화운동기록관 (May 18th Democratic Movement Archives) | Naver link. The archives are spread across several exhibitions on three floors, and they contain a ton of historical artifacts, including bullet-struck windows, newspaper clippings, and much more. Most of the exhibits (at the very least, the significant ones) on display have English translations, so visitors don’t need to know Korean when going through the archives. The exhibits were incredibly interesting, and they cover fascinating topics such as the role of women and the foreign press during the uprising. Prior to my visit, my knowledge about the uprising mainly came from movies and Korean dramas, so I learned so much from the archives.
One of the more impressive spaces in the city is the 국립아시아문화전당 (National Asia Culture Center [ACC]) | Naver link, which honestly feels more like a community college campus. The Center is dedicated to Asian culture resource, cultural exchange, content creation, production, exhibition, performance, and distribution. In one section, the 민주평화교류원 (ACC Cultural Exchange), there are renovated historical buildings from the uprising, which unfortunately weren’t open when I visited. I took the elevator down to a lower level and saw that another section, the 예술극장 (ACC Theater), could become an open-air space. In the 문화정보원 (ACC Archive & Research), there’s a pretty large library that also contained several art exhibitions. Art pieces are spread throughout the Complex, many of which are intriguingly designed. I do wish I got to spend more time here, as I didn’t get to explore even half of the spaces here.
Gwangju is known for being a city of art and culture, and one highlight that was constantly mentioned when I was researching for my trip was 광주예술의거리 (Gwangju Art Street) | Naver link. Going there just made sense, so imagine my surprise to see how empty the street was. Most of the shops in the street were closed, which was disappointing - I wasn’t sure if the fact that I came on a Sunday had something to do with it. The only thing I ended up doing here was visiting a couple free art exhibitions, one of which featured work done by students; I believe in supporting young artists, and I enjoyed my time spent there. I also peeked into a couple alleys to see some interesting murals. Still, I wish I came here either on a better day or back during the street’s heyday, when being among a lot of people could enhance the experience.
There’s a particular street that’s known for duck cookery, and it’s known as 광주오리 요리거리 (Gwangju Duck Street) | Naver link. I had duck in Korea before, but it had been over 13 years since then, and I was curious about trying duck dishes here. Since the restaurant I had in mind wasn’t accepting parties of one, I instead went over to 태화오리탕 (Taehwa Duck Soup) | Naver link, which was willing to seat me so long as I at least ordered the 오리탕 (반마리) [duck soup (half)]. That was just the dish I had in mind, so I did just that; my order came out to ₩35,000 (estimated $24.49). The great thing about ordering this is that I received 홍어무침 (raw skate salad) as part of my banchan as well as one serving of 오리로스 (grilled duck). This was my first time eating skate, and even though I expected it to taste extremely funky, it actually wasn’t! If anything, it was like a chewier, slightly thicker cut of fish. The other times I had duck in Korea were grilled duck, so having this dish again brought back memories of the past - not to mention that it tasted absolutely fantastic, with the duck’s fattiness making each bite incredibly savory. The duck soup arrived shortly after the hostess replaced the grill pan with it on a portable gas stove. It was mostly cooked already, so I just had to boil it for just a little while longer and add as much 미나리 (minari - water dropworts) as to my liking. I found the soup to be thick, almost creamy, and the flavors mostly come from perilla seeds and duck meat. The duck in the soup was tender, and the whole dish was quite comforting, but if you were to ask me to choose between the soup and the grilled duck, I’d go with the latter.
A Naver search for restaurants one night brought me to 솔밭솥밥 (Solbat Pot Rice) | Naver link, a Japanese-inspired restaurant. This place was absolutely packed, and I lucked out getting a table for one as soon as I arrived. After reading through the menu, I chose to order the 꼬막솥밥 (cockle pot rice) since I knew the Jeolla region was known for cockles. This dish cost ₩14,000 ($9.80). Once it came out in a metal pot, I actually had to scoop the contents - consisting of the cockles, rice, green onions, dried seaweed, sesame seeds, and a raw egg yolk - out into a bowl. I then poured hot water into the pot, which had some rice stuck to the bottom, and covered it with a lid. That’s right: I was making scorched rice for the end of my meal. I mixed the contents in the bowl to essentially make bibimbap, and I found the result to be quite tasty. Once I finished this and enough time had passed, I lifted the lid from the pot and dug into the scorched rice, and it served as a nice way to “wash” what I ate down.
After eating at Solbat Pot Rice, I looked up nearby cafes on Naver and settled on 티소하 (Teasoha) | Naver link, which was about a 10-minute walk away. I found it tucked into what seemed like a quiet neighborhood. It was quite busy, and I settled into the one remaining table. I ordered the 다관세트 (teapot set), which cost ₩12,000 ($8.40). The host asked me what tea I wanted, and I opted for 우롱차 (oolong tea). This set came with a teapot full of tea, a large thermos filled with hot water, a mini glass pitcher with a leaf-shaped filter over it, a small mug, a small hourglass, and a dish of snacks that included dried dates, a “rice cracker” block, and a green tea 양갱 (yokan - which is made from red bean paste). I was instructed to pour the water from the teapot onto the filter and into the pitcher, from which I could pour the filtered tea into the mug. Once I finished the tea in the teapot, I could pour the water from the thermos into the teapot. After I did that, I was to flip the hourglass and wait until the last grains of sand fell from the top half into the bottom half. When it did, the tea had seeped, and I could repeat the whole process again. The tea was calming and refreshing, and the snacks gave me some sweetness and something to munch on. With the water from the thermos, I was able to make tea five times over, and there was still water left inside by the time I left.
광산구 (Gwangsan-gu)
I had returned to 광주송정역 (Gwangju Songjeong Station Line 1) | Naver link from a day trip on my last afternoon in the city, and near the station is 1913송정역시장 (1913 Songjeong Station Market) | Naver link, which opened in 1913 and redesigned not long ago. There are a bunch of small restaurants and shops here, and I came here knowing I could buy some snacks.
While walking down this market street, I stopped first at 쑥스초코파이 (Sooks) | Naver link, a shop selling choco pies. I’ve eaten my fair share of these growing up in the U.S., but the ones they were selling here looked much nicer and a bit more sophisticated. I bought a 논산 딸기 (Nonsan strawberry choco pie) for ₩3,700 ($2.59), and it came with a very thick marshmallow filling and strawberry jam between two chocolate biscuits. This was terrific, and I liked how the choco pie wasn’t as crumbly or dry as the ones I was used to eating.
My main reason for coming to this market was 갱소년 (Gaeng Sonyeon) | Naver link , a small shop that sells yokan, but these come in the form of spheres as opposed to the blocks that I typically see. The shop has a great variety of flavors, and you can buy them individually or in gift boxes. I bought five: peach, pineapple, mango, kiwi, and strawberry. They sell drinks here as well, so I bought a 생과일 젤리에이드 (청포도) [fresh fruit jelly-ade (green grape)]. In total, this cost me ₩11,000 ($7.62). Their yokan was delicious, and speaking as someone who had only eaten a limited variety of them, it was fun eating these and experiencing the different flavors. The jelly-ade was absolutely refreshing, and it contained three flavored jelly spheres inside that enhanced the drink.
Travel Reference Links: