Gwangju Street of Art (광주 예술의 거리)

Gwangju’s Street of Art is one of about five or six things listed in every guidebook as a thing to do while in Gwangju. Some of the reviews I saw on the internet were pretty mediocre. Saturdays are supposed to be the best days, and the second Saturday of the month is supposed to have extra events. So I went on the second Saturday to check it out. Little was happening, less than half the stores and galleries were open, and few people were around. Probably 10-20% of the stores were undergoing construction. Overall, it was disappointing. Maybe once all the construction is done it will be OK. As I headed away from the art area (toward Chungjangno or 충장로) I noticed this alley.

Posted on July 16th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: graffiti, gwangju, Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AF-D nikkor lens, Nikon D600, street art. Comments Off on Gwangju Art Street

Stream near Jeungsimsa (증심사)

Along the side of Juengsimsa and the Uijae Museum of Korean Art (의재미술관) runs a lovely, small river near the edge of Mudeungsan National Park. I was too tired to check out the museum, but I hope to go back before my time in Gwangju is over.

Posted on July 15th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: gwangju, Mount Mudeung National Park, nature, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Gwangju nature

Korean temple near Mt. Mudeung

This temple was locked up by the time I was finishing my hike on Mudeungsan. The location is on the Gwangju side of Jeungsimsa Temple (증심사), just inside Mudeungsan National Park.

Posted on July 14th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: buddhist, gwangju, Mount Mudeung National Park, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, temples. Comments Off on Turtles and Korean temples

Corona – Gwangju ROK

My second visit to Corona was as pleasant as the first. This time I ordered tacos (mild spiciness) and an Indica IPA from Eureka, California. The owner seems to be ordering his imports based on the ratings they receive on beeradvocate.com. I was chatting with him about this when his latest shipment came in. Included in the shipment were a number of beers from Anderson Valley Brewing Company. He comped me a bottle of their Belk’s ESB. Corona also has something called Red Rock (on tap no less) that is supposed to be made by OB, but I can’t find out anything about this beer, and the owner of Corona says it is hard to find in Korea even though it is about the only decent Korean beer.

Hours now seemed to be fixed at noon to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. If you are coming from a distance (or with a large group), you may want to call first (062.251.7221) as they do close the place from time to time for private parties. Corona had two different groups reserve the place for different times on Friday evening.

Here is a photo of Corona from the outside:

Corona location near the back gate of CNU down the street with Dunkin Donuts on the corner

Posted on July 13th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: beer, corona, food, gwangju, Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AF-D nikkor lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Corona – Mexican Food in Gwangju

Panorama of Gwangju from the side of Mudeungsan

I did the “six hour” hike on Mt. Mudeung (무등산) a couple days ago. Today’s photo is from about an hour in. Believe it or not, after taking this photo I made it to the top of the mountain and then all the way back down into the city pictured below where I took the Gwangju Subway for the first time to get back to my bike. The hike actually took me about eight hours, but I took lots of photos along the way and got slightly lost once as well. Note if you ever plan to do this hike (especially in summer when it’s in the 80s or 90s and humid) that you can fill up your water bottles at Jangbuljae Pass. My guidebook (2010 edition of Lonely Planet Korea) says restaurant shacks can be found along the way, but they have all been cleared out since this became a National Park. In other words, bring your own food. Also note that if you ask the ranger at Jangbuljae how much farther it is to the Hakdong-Jeungsimsa Subway Station (학동·증심사입구역) and he tells you two hours, don’t believe him. Even on fresh, running legs I couldn’t have made it that far in two hours. As it was, my legs were already spent, and the last few hours were rather difficult even though it was all downhill.

Posted on July 12th, 2013 under Korea. Tags: clouds, gwangju, Mount Mudeung National Park, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, panorama, photomerge. Comments Off on Hike up and over Mudeungsan and then back into Gwangju