40gyedan-gil and Beyond

From our hostel, Mr Egg Original, in Nampo, we took more than 40 steps to go back to the time of the Korean War at 40gyedan-gil (in English, it translates to 40 Steps Street), a street which is actually two streets at a right angle to each other. (The starting point of 40gyedan–gil is just two blocks from Mr Egg Hostel Nampo, its end point just a block away from the hostel.) This street is dotted with sculptures reflecting the life during the Korean War. It ends at the 40–step staircase that has a sculpture of an accordion player.

We explored this place early in the morning on a Sunday when it was quiet and deserted. We took our sweet time walking this short street—just 450 meters—and checking out every sculpture we came across. Our sweet time just took 10 minutes.

Some of the sculptures depicting life during the Korean War

But our ten minutes stretched to an hour when, from the top of the 40–step staircase, another set of stairs caught our eye: one with a mosaic of dolphins and birds. Out of curiosity we climbed up a few of its steps and found a map on the wall. "The 2nd Street Art Festival" were the only English words on the map, the rest was in Korean. Thus our exploration of the right–angled street of 40gyedan-gil extended to several alleys snaking through residential areas where we found a treasure trove of colorful street art.

Stairs, buildings, drain pipes

Same wall, different art

On roll–up doors

On gates

On walls

And more walls

Directions to 40 Steps Culture and Theme Street: Take subway line 1 to Jungang Station, exit 13.

40 Steps Street (in red) and the colorful alleys and narrow roads (in blue) beyond

(Click to enlarge)

This article combined with the Gamcheon Culture Village article is also featured on GPSmyCity. If you find this article useful and plan to use it to explore Busan, for a minimal fee, you can download the GPSmyCity iOS app to view it offline and use the GPS-aided map.

South Korea Quickie 2014

Wisdom from the Road #22
Seoul: Lessons From My Seoul Airbnb Experience
Seoul: Gwangjang Market
Seoul: Namsan: Park, Tower, and Village
Gyeongju: Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto
Wisdom from the Road #29
Busan: Mr Egg Hostel (Nampo)
Busan: Scenic Sites of Busan: Taejongdae and Oryukdo
Busan: Wishes at Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Busan: 40gyedan-gil and Beyond (you're here!)
Busan: Gamcheon Culture Village
Busan: An Ignoramus in Busan
Daily Dose of Kindness in South Korea
Squeezing Three Cities and One Wallet in Five Days
Busan: What's in a (Business) Name? Busan