Published by the Gwangju International Center since 2001
Located about an hour and change southeast of Gwangju, Obong-san (literally “five-peak mountain”) has left me smitten for its topographical variety, bucolic bayside views, and one of the most unique rock formations I’ve ever seen: Knife Rock (칼바위). In this edition of “Lost,” I’ll carve out a few paragraphs on what puts this mountain in my top 10.
This month, we’ll turn to the interior for a visit to Hwasun County, located just southeast of Gwangju. There we’ll visit a pair of abandoned family shrines and the ruins of a mountain fortress dating back to the Goryeo era.
This month, we’ll trek to the extreme western edge of Jaeun-do, another of Sinan-gun’s many superb but under-visited islands. Jaeun-do has at least a half dozen sites and experiences of note I could talk about: the large, abandoned school complex that haunts the landscape, what Mariposa Resort was like back when I found it a burned-out derelict, the excellent hike to the peak of Dubong-san, dodging bats at the island’s decommissioned military site, discovering one-of-a-kind temple ruins amid a forest of bamboo, and two vast beaches that merge into an epic promontory scarcely anyone visits. For this article, we’ll focus just on the temple ruins and beach promontory.
“My aim here is neither to extol nor vilify the Saemaul Movement, but rather to highlight its continued impact on the Korea we see today.”
In a departure from the usual Lost in Gwangju column, this month we’ll go beyond the city limits and share the best of the region’s ripped backsides, along with a few tangents about why we sink so much time into finding them.
Written and photographed by Isaiah Winters If you’ve recently been to the immigration office in Gwangju’s Ssangchon-dong, then you may have had a moment (or if the clerks were … Read More
Gunsan & Seonyu Island is the most beautiful, “magic” place to escape for a weekend jaunt, according to Ryu Hye-jung and her friend Cobi.
How did Gwangju come to be Korea’s sixth metropolitan city, known for human rights and democracy? Here’s a brief history from prehistoric times.
