Gamcheon Village
Gamcheon Village is sometimes nicknamed the "Santorini of Korea," but such touristic epithets belie its gritty and resilient history.
Located on a steep hillside overlooking the harbor in the Saha district, this neighborhood began as a desperate shanty town for war refugees during the Korean War in the 1950s.
When the war pushed millions of people south to the Busan Perimeter, thousands of displaced families, having lost everything, built small, makeshift homes into the mountainside. They used whatever materials they could find — often scrap wood, rocks, and corrugated iron. The result was a dense labyrinth of narrow alleys and staircases where neighbors lived in extremely close quarters. For decades, it remained one of the city’s poorest districts, a place defined by struggle, poverty, and a lack of basic infrastructure like running water or sewage systems.
However, the village’s fate changed in 2009 when the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism launched a massive urban regeneration project titled “Dreaming of Machu Picchu in Busan.” The government faced a choice: bulldoze this historic quarter to make way for modern apartment blocks — a common practice in Korean urban planning — or attempt to revitalize the existing community. They chose the latter and invited artists to paint the concrete houses in vibrant pastel colors — pinks, blues, and greens —a nd install whimsical sculptures throughout the alleys. Today, the village is a living art gallery where the architecture itself is the canvas, transforming a symbol of poverty into a symbol of cultural vibrancy.
It made our visit to Korea very special. I've loved it! We are having a great time in Busan.J.G., Brazil
The experience of Gamcheon is intensely physical. Visitors navigate the “Stars Stairs” — a steep flight of 148 steps connecting the lower and upper parts of the village. The name does not refer to the view of the night sky, but to the fact that residents, carrying heavy loads of water, coal, or supplies up the steps, would often feel dizzy and “see stars” by the time they reached the top. This name serves as a reminder of the physical hardship endured by the original inhabitants.
The village features art installations that interact with the landscape such as the famous statue of The Little Prince and the Fox. Perched on a guardrail, the pair sit with their backs to the viewer, gazing out over the colorful quilt of roofs toward the busy harbor below. This spot has become the village’s most iconic photo opportunity. However, visitors are constantly reminded that this is not a movie set or a theme park; it is a residential area where people still live. Signs urging “Quiet Please” are common. Gamcheon stands as a colorful testament to the resilience of the refugees who built a life out of nothing on a barren gorge, proving that beauty can bloom from the harshest conditions.
