#Gamcheon

[the-time-wasting-traveller]

Busan, South Korea

[photoglobo]

South Korea: Busan Gamcheon Culture Village

The last highlight on our Busan day tour was the bustling and colorful Gamcheon Culture Village. Peter, our guide, grow up in this neighborhood. So, he could lead us trough small alleys and knows all the short cuts to the interesting points and views. Meanwhile on the main routes the tourists were queueing up for a specific “instagrammable” picture. Instead of lining up, i rather had a coffee…

[bitterdisasterinprogress]

[kvnai]

Walking up the hill to Gamcheon Culture Village. Busan, South Korea.

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[googlemapsrandomplaces]

gamcheon bakery (감천제빵소), busan, south korea by dessie hristov

[nineteenfiftysix]

Gamcheon Culture Village (Busan, South Korea - 2024)

[ososperezosos]

October 14, 2023.

[kyndaris]

Behind the Scenes with The Little Prince

On our second day in Busan, bleachpanda and I headed to Gamcheon Culture Village. It is a place known for its twisting alleys and colourful houses and painted murals. Built on a steep mountain-side slope, it's often been called Korea's 'Santorini' or the 'Machu Picchu' of Busan. But the creation of Gamcheon Culture Village was due to a project to contribuet to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of an underprivileged village through culture and arts while also preserving the village's original features and historic value.

Consequently, it was a must-see location for bleachpanda and I on our trip while we were in Busan.

Of course, getting to it was a trek and a half as bleachpanda and I took a local bus towards a stop nearby and climbing up a fairly steep hill. While there was another bus we could have changed to, the internet had told me the walk wasn't too long.

What it didn't tell me about were the changes in elevation!

At the very least, we didn't explore the labyrinthine alleys running in and out of Gamcheon and kept to the main road whilst we were there. I don't think our knees would have liked us for climbing up and down a series of stairs.

Still, given the brisk morning we endured on the first day of March, the climb up to Gamcheon served to warm us up before we entered the village proper. Bleachpanda, as always, immediately zeroed in on the first souvenir shop that caught our eye, buying up almost all of their stock of earrings and other goods supposedly for her family and friends. I tried valiantly to stop bleachpanda from spending more than her means but she would not be denied.

Wait. She's telling me that's not quite the full story and to stop spreading lies lest she murder me in my sleep.

Fine! Bleachpanda did buy a copious amounts of pins and a few other souvenirs for her friends (none for me though despite the fact I'm her best friend in the world), but it was not so much that it would break open her suitcase. I, on the other hand, picked up three pairs of socks and even nabbed a crocheted dragon keyring. It was a bit expensive but it was also very cute and adorable.

What stood out to me as bleachpanda and I explored Gamcheon, I couldn't help but notice a strange obsession with Le Petit Prince everywhere I looked. As most people know, Le Petit Prince is a story written and illustrated by a French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery. According to Wikipedia (because, as we all know, it is a fount of knowledge that is, in no way, inaccurate and should always be everyone's go-to place when it comes to information), it is the second most translated work ever published.

The story itself revolves around an aircraft pilot's chance encounter with the little prince and his journey across the stars after feeling the need to expand his horizons after falling in love with the rose. After seeing so many different thing, taming a fox, and befriending the aircraft pilot, the little prince desires to return home and see the rose again. He does so by allowing a snake to bite him. When the pilot awakes the next morning, the prince's body cannot be found.

While I haven't read the book, I have attended a live stage show of it when it was hosted in the Sydney Opera House and watched a movie.

In any case, Gamcheon had plenty of murals of the Little Prince. There was even a sculpture of him staring out over Gamcheon with his fox companion that many tourists lined up to take photos with. Heck, there was even Little Prince bread filled with either custard cream or red bean paste!

Besides The Little Prince, there was also much love for the Korean boyband, BTS (short for Bangtan Sonyeondan). Though I don't have an undying love for the group, I did remember hearing that BTS went on hiatus from recording and performing to focus on solo projects, and to also complete their military service.

Having missed our chance to rent out a hanbok while in Seoul, bleachpanda and I stumbled upon a rental store in the heart of Gamcheon. While I have never revealed my face here on my blog, I think it appropriate that I do a 'back-of-the-head' reveal. More importantly, I just wanted to show off the hanbok we rented because we could only wear it for an hour and it cost bleachpanda and I 15,000 Won each.

Still, although it was only for an hour, we had plenty of time to prance around Gamcheon village and take several photos in and around the nearby streets.

Once we had explored Gamcheon to our satisfaction, we decided to head to the beach. Yes, it was a blistering cold day and we were never going to head down into the water, but I had heard good things about Haeundae Beach, and my work friend had also recommended it. So, after taking a bus down from where Gamcheon Culture Village was located, we took the 1003 bus all the way to the other side of Busan.

At Haeundae Beach, we strolled down the promenade and took in the sights of the locals and tourists gathered there. Haeundae, according to hte internet, is South Korea's most famous beach and is often filled to the brim with umbrellas during the peak August travel season.

Of course, since bleachpanda and I were there in March, there was hardly an umbrella in sight. Nor was there anyone in the water.

It was, after all, only 4 degrees Celsius.

Now, while Haeundae Beach is a popular destination for many, my work friend had also told me there were sky capsules that would allow tourists to get in an excellent view of the coastline.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived to book a sky capsule, a vast majority of the bookings had been taken. As bleachpanda and I had an early start tomorrow, we chose to forego the capsules and head back to Busan Station to grab an early dinner (as we had skipped lunch). This turned out to be Chinese dumplings at Maga Mandu. And what big dumplings they were - especially when bleachpanda ordered the steamed prawn dumblings!

Thus ended our second day in Busan!

And what a day it was! From a morning trek up to Gamcheon, putting on a hanbok and gallivanting around with The Little Prince, to taking in the sights and sounds of Haeundae Beach. All the while on a public holiday! The 1st of March is a national day to celebrate Korea's independence from Japan.

But we also had an early start to the morning and so were quick to retire. After six days in Korea, we were returning back to the Land of the Rising Sun.

[nhdiary]

[hamdeokcomplex]

Olá, atletas! Os campeonatos Nacionais estão cada vez mais próximos e sabemos que isso tem se traduzido em treinos cada vez mais intensos e caóticos. E, para colocar ainda mais lenha na fogueira, que tal conhecer um pouco mais sobre nossos adversários?

GAMCHEON TRAINING CENTER

BUSAN

Basquete, Vôlei, Taekwondo, Futebol, Natação, Ginástica, Boxe, Skateboarding, E-Sports, Judô

Cores Oficiais: Ciano e Branco

Uma grata surpresa na história dos complexos de treinamento olímpico da Coréia do Sul, a princípio ninguém levou muito a sério a ideia de um grande complexo em Busan. Sem investidores, o fundador Park Jaewon fez inúmeros empréstimos para conseguir financiar a realização de seu sonho e nenhum momento da história do Gamcheon Training Center foi fácil. Apesar de hoje ter se consolidado como um dos nomes proeminentes no âmbito esportivo, dentre todos os outros complexos que são financeiramente estáveis, o complexo cuja sede é em Busan é frequentemente alvo de piadas, uma vez que seus atletas, apesar de excepcionais, por muitas vezes precisam tirar dinheiro do próprio bolso para continuar seu treinamento no complexo, já que todos os patrocinadores direcionam seu olhar para as grandes jóias dentre os complexos. 

Mas não se deixe enganar pela instabilidade financeira do Gamcheon, pois seus atletas por diversas vezes conseguiram vencer não só o Hamdeok, mas todos os outros complexos em campeonatos e amistosos, provando que o dinheiro do investimento não é o suficiente para fazer de alguém um bom esportista. Apesar das gracinhas sobre a condição financeira do centro de treinamento, os atletas do Gamcheon possuem um bom relacionamento com todos os outros, exceto o Seogwipo, uma vez que seus atletas são conhecidos por sua crueldade e tendências desonestas. Essa inimizade em comum aproximou o fundador Beomseok de Jaewon e este frequentemente fecha acordos de patrocínio para o complexo de Busan, o que é um belo ato de solidariedade e amizade, mas quem conhece a história do Hamdeok e Seogwipo sabe que esta é mais uma forma de tentar envergonhar e superar o complexo de Jeju-Do. 

Seus treinos são baseados em persistência e improviso, pois muitas vezes não possuem acesso aos equipamentos adequados, mas isso tem trazido resultados! Seus patrocinadores mais recentes renovaram o centro de treinamento da equipe de e-sports e eles têm se mostrado muito promissores para os nacionais deste ano! Sem falar que os times de futebol feminino, o Gamcheon Falcons, de basquete, Gamcheon Rangers e o time de vôlei, as Gamcheon Sirens, apresentaram rendimento excepcional nos amistosos em que participaram, levando praticamente todas as medalhas para casa, o que tem chamado a atenção de possíveis investidores. Definitivamente são adversários que não devem ser subestimados!

OBS: Lembrando que nós temos um formulário para o cadastro de NPCs que poderão participar dos nacionais, sendo eles atletas ou treinadores. Os NPCs mandados durante os amistosos para o Seogwipo Complex ainda serão usados, então não é necessário mandá-los novamente. Ao longo dos próximos dias liberaremos mais complexos, então fiquem de olho!

[definitely-a-photo-blog]

Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan, South Korea

[travelella]

Gamcheon Culture Village, Gamnae 1(il)-ro, Gamcheon-dong, Saha-gu, Busan, South Korea

Sam Balye

[dgeometric]

Pics from visit to Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan, South Korea

[kvnai]

Gamcheon culture Village is so pretty!!! Busan, South Korea.

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