Gamcheon, the town of and for modeling your friends

Gamcheon is a little piece of Busan which you’ve probably seen on Instagram and Youtube a dozen times before if you’ve been in the Korea infosphere. Occasionally called something along the lines of “Italian/Greek/Peruvian seaside village,” the small town lay before us as we descended from the local bus stop off the green line. Stepping into town in the early bright orange sun certainly painted the right picture. The town is built into the bay, rising from the sea, then climbing upwards toward the tops of the hills.

My friends, Agnes and Kiera, were waiting to explore the little town. I brought my film cameras with me, gave one to Kiera, and we set off to have a photo filled day. We soon realized our dawn breaking arrival was a bit too eager. The coffee shops, tourist traps, and souvenir stores were just about all closed. We found a little cafe near the town center begging us to be its first customers to walk into the still empty seating area. While sipping on some much needed caffeine, there was a trickle of tourists being led in by excited tour guides. By the time we finished our life giving bean serum, the trickles became hoards of people. 

This onslaught encouraged us to start moving. We didn’t make it 100 ft until the first little shop caught our attention. Little knick-knacks, Korean inspired stationary, K-pop items, fans and cat pins welcomed us in the light of the still rising sun. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the early start, but we did not leave without purchasing a couple of matching cat pins. We slapped them on our bag and set off once again.

Thanks to its rejuvenation, Gamcheon has art scattered through its streets along with small galleries and museums. The painted roofs offered a smattering of colors for the backdrop to our photo heavy day. We continued by trying some Korean Jelly balls which helped ease our sweet tooth. The streets by this time were swarming with tourists like ourselves, some in hanboks, some in groups, some looking for stamps, and all of us clamoring for the best photo spots. Spots for the Little Prince had lines stretching around the block. The Thousand Stars staircase had its own line full of people wearing hanboks. I cannot emphasize enough how rapidly this small town filled with people. That being said, there were still spots scattered about the maze-like town filled with modeling potential. 

We wandered the backstreets, making an effort to see the landmarks posted on the map provided to us by the local tourism office. The main reason to follow the map could be summed up easily: everyone knows the hot spots, take the adventure and find your own. On our wayward crawl we were awarded with spots devoid of too many tourists. If you decide to join the throng of visitors coming to Gamcheon, I think you will be gifted a wonderful experience in a small town with dream-like qualities.