'August is the Month to Visit Gwangyang' Introducing Gwangyang City's Summer Travel Courses

Indoor Cultural Spaces such as Gwangyang Jangdo Museum and Gwangyang Art Warehouse

Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest and Mangdeok Port, where the Gwangyang Jeoneo Festival Takes Place, etc.

Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do introduces three recommended travel courses for August that allow visitors to spend the hot and tiring summer meaningfully and healthily.

Gwangyang City has organized ‘Half-day Course,’ ‘One-day Course,’ and ‘1 Night 2 Days Course’ centered around indoor cultural spaces such as the Gwangyang Jangdo Museum and Gwangyang Art Warehouse, as well as Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest and Mangdeok Port, where the Gwangyang Jeoneo Festival takes place.

Night View of Baealdo [Photo by Gwangyang City]

The half-day course, ‘Half a Day in Gwangyang,’ is a journey that connects the Gwangyang Jangdo Museum ~ Jeonnam Provincial Museum of Art & Gwangyang Art Warehouse ~ Gubongsan Observatory ~ Yi Sun-sin Bridge ~ Baealdo Island Garden.

Jangdo (粧刀) is a small knife with a sheath, created through 177 processes including heating steel at over 1,000℃ and hammering it. The craft or the person who makes jangdo is called Jangdojang.

The Gwangyang Jangdo Museum is a space where the spirit of artisans who have carried on the tradition of the national intangible cultural asset No. 60 ‘Jangdojang (粧刀匠)’ for three generations flows strongly, offering diverse experiences such as exhibitions and hands-on activities.

The knives, tempered and sharpened dozens of times, serve as a field school teaching the patience and perseverance of the artisans, making it a perfect place to spend a meaningful summer vacation.

The Gubongsan Observatory, Yi Sun-sin Bridge, and Baealdo Island Garden realize the ‘Gwangyang trip shining day and night.’ Their unique landscapes and subtle night views are enough to recharge the emotions and romance of travelers tired of everyday life.

The one-day course spending a day in Gwangyang follows the itinerary of Jeonnam Provincial Museum of Art and Gwangyang Art Warehouse ~ Inseori Park ~ Seoul National University Southern Practice Forest Residence ~ Gwangyang Wine Cave ~ Gubongsan Observatory ~ Yi Sun-sin Bridge.

At the Jeonnam Provincial Museum of Art, ‘I Want to Eat Mango in the Bathtub’ by Linus van de Velde is currently on display with great success, and a special invitational exhibition of Heo Young-man, a key figure in the development of Korean comics, titled ‘Hero of Paper, Epic of Cannes Exhibition’ is set to open on August 6.

Exterior view of Gwangyang Art Warehouse [Photo by Gwangyang City]

At the Seoul National University Southern Practice Forest Residence, the ‘Master Hanbok Experience of Korea’ with Korea’s Hanbok master Lee So-jeong awaits visitors.

Every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can try on or rent premium hanbok at the residence, and the experience event will continue until the end of this year.

After the meal, visitors will head to the Gwangyang Wine Cave, a summer sanctuary maintaining an average temperature of 17.5℃ year-round, where they can stroll through art spaces created with light such as the Garden of Contemplation and Light Fantasia, enjoy romance, and participate in experiences like wine foot baths.

The 1 Night 2 Days course ‘Counting Stars at Night in Gwangyang’ dreaming of a night in Gwangyang covers the nature, culture, and beautiful night views of Gwangyang from Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest to Mangdeok Port, where the abundant Jeoneo Festival is held.

The first day’s itinerary includes Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest (Healing Forest, Wood Culture Experience Center) ~ Jeonnam Provincial Museum of Art and Gwangyang Art Warehouse ~ Gwangyang Wine Cave ~ Gubongsan Observatory ~ Yi Sun-sin Bridge, and the second day leisurely concludes the 1 night 2 days journey at Gim Seaweed Cultivation Site ~ Baealdo Island Garden ~ Mangdeok Port (Jeong Byeong-wook House preserving the posthumous manuscripts of Yun Dong-ju).

Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest offers a ‘forest vacation’ filled with phytoncides in its dense primeval forest, ecological forest, healing forest, wood culture experience center, forest library, and accommodation facilities.

At the Seomjin River and Mangdeok Port area, visiting historical sites such as the world’s first seaweed cultivation site and Jeong Byeong-wook House, which preserves the handwritten posthumous manuscripts of Yun Dong-ju, adds depth to the trip.

Especially at Mangdeok Port, the ‘23rd Gwangyang Jeoneo Festival’ will be held from August 23 for three days with savory flavors and abundant programs, allowing visitors to enjoy the early autumn atmosphere.

For more details, please check the ‘Recommended Travel Corner’ on the Gwangyang City Culture and Tourism website.

Kim Seong-su, Director of Tourism, said, “The August Gwangyang trip is designed to help people enjoy the summer vacation and holidays excitingly and meaningfully. We highly recommend a family trip to Gwangyang that includes cultural spaces such as Gwangyang Art Warehouse, Gwangyang Wine Cave, and Gwangyang’s shining night views, where you can escape the midsummer heat and boost your emotional quotient, as well as Gwangyang’s pristine nature and the Gwangyang Jeoneo Festival, which offers a preview of a rich autumn.”

Meanwhile, Gwangyang City has consistently presented travel courses considering travel time and routes, from ‘Half-day Courses’ for casual visits centered on ‘Monthly Hot Places’ to ‘1 Night 2 Days Courses’ that allow rediscovery of every corner of Gwangyang for tourists.