Lost in Gwangju: Sangmu
By Marley Herckner
This month I got lost in Sangmu. Luckily, I might add. If you search for Sangmu online, you will find very little in English. So how did I spend hours in Sangmu and not grow bored? I spent most of my time in and around Sangmu 1-dong. This is north of the Subway line. There is plenty in Sangmu 2-dong and I may get lost there in the future.
If you look at this area on a map you will see a large park. This park is the 5-18 Memorial Park. If you do not know what the May 18th Democratic Movement was, I would recommend looking it up. It is very important to the history of Gwangju. But in the simplest way, this was a movement that started on May 18th, 1980. Students were protesting at Chonnam when they were fired upon and killed by government troops. This event is often called the Korean Tiananmen Square. Outraged Gwangju citizens collected the weapons they could and began to fight back. The movement lasted until May 27th. This event happened a mere 36 years ago. The park itself is fairly large and is good to walk slowly through and relax. The Park contains the 5-18 Library, 5-18 Cultural Center, Education Center, and many other buildings and sculptures. The most powerful part, for me, is the sculpture for those lost. It shows three men, the man in the middle falling down. Behind the statue is a large black box with stairs going down. I recommend going down. You find yourself in a memorial with names of many of those who were lost. In the center stands a statue of a man holding a dead body and looking up. It captures the grief that would have been felt by those who lived in Gwangju at the time.
Not far from the park is City Hall. If you search for it online, you will find a variety of articles about their outdoor skating rink. It is just as awesome as your inner child is telling you. The price, when I went, was only 1,000 won. You do have to wear a helmet, and you are only paying for an hour on the rink itself. As long as you are careful not to go flying and hurt yourself, it is worth it.
Even if you deny your inner child, there is plenty more to do and see. Sangmu itself is a well-planned out “downtown.” You can go window shopping down the streets, or stop at the SeJung Outlet mall. The mall carries a variety of Korean stores, as well as western stores. It is not the cheapest location to go shopping, but it provides a large variety of goods that you may struggle to find elsewhere. There are also numerous restaurants that litter the downtown area. My friend and I found ourselves at my new favorite. The restaurant is called With A Spoon. It is located on a second floor, but has Italian food. Not Korean fusion Italian food. Delicious pasta dishes. I am hungry just writing about it. But if you are not ready for a meal, I recommend looking for Benikea Hotel (with a 24 hour Jimjilbang!). The interior of the building makes me feel like it is a 1930’s hotel. But we only peeked inside. I recommend it for the attached cafe. Cafe Old and New is a cute little cafe with a very unique feel. There are bookshelves filled with books, and such antiques as a Little Rascals VHS. While the menu of coffee is identical to most other cafes in Korea, I found that the white mocha I ordered was amazing. I am not sure whether it is because I was enjoying it because of the location, or because they roast their own coffee beans.
Finally, as they day comes to an end, you might want to go drinking. A Korean friend of mine told me that the Chonnam Back Gate area is for people in their early 20s, downtown—where many of us go drinking—is for those in their mid 20s, and Sangmu is for those 30 and over. I have not gone drinking in Sangmu myself, so I have been unable to verify this, but the restaurants, bars, clubs, and noraebangs in the area certainly do look like lots of fun.
Sangmu is nearly the center of Gwangju, so it is a good location to meet so that everyone has to travel a similar distance. If you meet at the Sangmu subway station, you can even take the time to walk up and down the piano stairs there. It is very tempting to play Chopsticks or Mary Had a Little Lamb for anyone nearby. It would definitely be a nice workout.