Owen Memorial Hall (오웬기념각)

3.4Km 2024-11-12

6 Baekseo-ro 70beon-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-650-7647

The Owen Monument and Memorial Hall is located inside the Christian College of Nursing. The monument was erected in 1914 in memory of missionary Clement Owen who, together with Priest Bae Yoo-ji, was the first missionary to come to Jeollanam-do. The monument was built using the 4,200 dollars collected by Owen’s relatives in the USA after Owen died as a martyr in Gwangju.

Clement Owen came to Yangnim-dong, Gwangju in the 1900s and served as a missionary and medical volunteer with his wife, who was a nurse, before dying of exhaustion and overwork in 1909. Owen had hoped to build a memorial hospital in honor of his grandfather, but died before his plan was materialized. The plaque hanging in the hall honors both men in English and Chinese, reading, “In Memory of William L. and Clement C. Owen.”

A Western-style building with a total footage of around 1,435 meters squared (including the annex building), the monument is said to have been used as chapel and assembly room. Today, the building serves as the auditorium of the Christian College of Nursing. The white, two-story building features a lectern in one corner, with two columns of pews facing the lectern. The second floor balcony stretches along the two walls opposite the lectern.

◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm – movie “Love, Lies,”
In the film, So-yul and Yeon-hee come here to see the renowned singer Lee Nan-young perform. Owen Memorial Hall has a history as a venue for Christian gatherings, lectures, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and various cultural events in the region. Today, it continues to serve as a space for both religious and cultural gatherings.

Arirang House (아리랑하우스)

3.5Km 2016-10-18

2, Mudeung-ro 321 Beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-525-2111~5

With a proud 20-year history, Arirang House is famous for its kimchi, which won a prize at the first Kimchi Festival. In 2003, the restaurant collaborated with Shilla Hotel and Paradise Hotel and successfully hosted a royal cuisine demonstration event, contributing to the promotion of Korean cuisine.

Arirang House serves delicious Korean cuisine in an elegant style. The food is carefully prepared by 11 chefs, including the chef who has thirty years of experience. The kitchen is divided into the side dish team, the special dish team, and the main course team to prepare a total of thirty or so specialized dishes. The flavors are enhanced by using only the freshest natural ingredients and not using any artificial seasonings. Prices vary by course, and each course comes with raw beef, samhap (a combination of three special foods), assorted raw fish, and steamed short ribs. The bossam kimchi (kimchi with slices of steamed pork) is also one of their specialties.

Geumsoojang Tourist Hotel (금수장관광호텔)

3.5Km 2020-04-24

2, Mudeung-ro 321beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-525-2111

Geumsoojang Tourist Hotel is located in the old downtown center, just a seven-minute walk from Gwangju Station. It is known as the best "business hotel with expert Korean cuisine.” It has clean and comfortable guestrooms, other convenient facilities, an organized-customer management system, economic rates, and excellent service.

Bium Museum (비움박물관)

3.5Km 2025-01-02

143-1 Jebong-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju

Opened in 2016, the Bium Museum is a folk museum showcasing around 30 thousand Korean modern and traditional artifacts collected by Lee Young-hwa for about 50 years. The art pieces portray the life of poor commoners in the agricultural era before Korea went through industrialization, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of the adaptability and resilience of people in hard times.

Gwangju Busking World Cup (광주 버스킹 월드컵)

3.5Km 2024-09-27

B56 Seoseok-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju
+82-70-4400-6554

The Gwangju Busking World Cup is a grand-scale event inviting musicians from around the world to perform at this busking competion. Busking is a signature of street culture, with the event taking place around the 5.18 Democracy Square, where the May 18 Democracy Movement took place.

Eunam Museum of Art (은암미술관)

3.5Km 2025-01-02

8-12 Seoseok-ro 85beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju

Opened in 2010, the Eunam Museum of Art offers a range of exhibitions, including permanent exhibitions and invitational exhibitions, humanities lectures, and concerts, and provides a cultural space for people to connect. It also runs international exchange exhibitions and residency program inviting artists from the country and abroad.

LEEKANGHA Art Museum (이강하미술관)

3.5Km 2024-11-14

6 3·1manseundong-gil, Nam-gu, Gwangju

The LEEKANGHA Art Museum, opened in 2018, offers a range of exhibitions, educational programs, and a research center. Visitors can explore the life and art world of Lee Kang-ha in different eras through various exhibitions and gain a deeper understanding of art with performances and educational programs. The museum aims to foster empathy and communication to enrich cultural knowledge by using diverse art-culture experience programs.

Energy Park Haedammaru (광주에너지파크 해담마루)

3.5Km 2024-12-17

131 Sangmugongwon-ro, Seo-gu, Gwangju

Energy Park Haedammaru opened in September 28, 2021, to educate visitors on the importance of energy. By exhibiting new and renewable energy, as well as different experience programs, visitors are able to understand the importance of energy usage and how to save more energy in daily life.

Asia Culture Center (국립아시아문화전당)

3.5Km 2024-11-15

38 Munhwajeondang-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju
+82-1899-5566

The Asia Culture Center (ACC) is an international arts and cultural exchange organization aimed to promote Gwangju as Asia's central hub through the integration of past and present-day cultural arts as well as the development of futuristic and progressive arts. The center consists of ACC Culture Exchange, ACC Children, ACC Archive & Research, ACC Theater, and other facilities to support and foster innovation.

◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm – movie “Exhuma”
This venue served as the backdrop for the scene where Hwa-rim and Bong-gil visit a hospital in LA to see a newborn whose parent’s life is in danger. Although portrayed as a hospital lobby, the scene was filmed in the Asia Culture Centre, Gwangju’s landmark cultural venue, notable for its impressive architecture that integrates natural elements.

Gwangju History & Folk Museum (광주 역사민속박물관)

3.6Km 2020-07-08

48-25, Seoha-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju
+82-62-613-5337

Gwangju History & Folk Museum opened in 1987 as the largest museum operated by a city government in Korea. It was established for the purpose of preserving valuable Korean folk relics and putting them on exhibit to increase the public's cultural awareness. The museum displays the rich and colorful lifestyles and folk culture of Korea's southwestern regions including Gwangju and Jeollanam-do.

First floor of the museum displays food, clothing, housing, livelihood, and handicrafts while the second floor showcases folk games, traditional customs and folk religions. The museum also utilizes miniature and diorama displays to recreate scenes from the past. A total of eight videotech systems in the museum allow visitors to enjoy vivid demonstrations of the region's nine intangible cultural relics.

Owen Memorial Hall (오웬기념각) - Area information - Korea travel information