Dubbed as the Santorini of Korea, Huinnyeoul Culture Village is a famous tourist attraction in Busan and a popular photo spot. The road leading to the top of the steep cliff facing the sea was listed on Korea’s 5 Majpr Coastal Trails (Haeannuri-gil) selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2014. The village was named “Huinnyeoul” because the water trickling down from the foot of Bongnaesan Mountain to the river, which forms the backdrop of the village, resembles white snow. The beginning of the village goes back to the days of the Korean War (1950–1953). Residential areas in Busan were inundated with refugees and those lesser fortunate who could not find a decent place to live had to go foothills of mountains or even cliffs by the sea. The coastal cliffs on the foothills of Bongnaesan Mountain was one of such places, and refugees began building lines of shacks creating narrow maze-like alleys that “if an escapee hid in the village, he/she would never be found.”
The living conditions of the village were very poor as it was located in rough grounds where the mountain met the sea. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that all the houses had running water. Before that, people had to carry water with bucket yokes. As the hard days passed and the Korean economy grew, people began to leave one by one in search for a better place to live, and soon the village became desolate and dreary as the number of abandoned houses increased.
However, new life was breathed in to the dying village. In 2010, Ms. Jin Sun-yeo, the head of the village, formed a community with the residents to create a “nice village for residents to live in, and a village where neighbors care and love one another.” Rice Soup Day, in which neighbors gathered to share their life stories and encourage each other over a bowl of rice soup became the foundation of the newly blooming Huinnyeoul Culture Village.
The local government also supported the village as changes began to sprout. In 2011, three empty houses in the village were provided to local artists as part of a project that repurposed abandoned houses into art studios, and while working on artworks to save the village the artists naturally became members of the village community.
As the villagers and artists tended the village together, arts and culture started to spread through the entire village and permeated every corner of the alley to create wonderful stories along with spectacular views of the sea. Nights at Huinnyeoul Culture Village present a totally different charm. The brightly lit boats in the anchorage waiting their turn to enter Busan Port look like jewels sparkling in a black sea.
A village formed over scars of a war that gradually deteriorated with time was saved by the local community. Like old houses that shared a wall leaning and supporting each other, the villagers and local artists also supported each others’ back and breathed in arts and culture.
TIP: Jagalchi Market is a representative seafood market of Busan where you can buy a great variety of fresh and tasty seafood. 
Address 605-3 Yeongseon-dong 4-ga, Yeongdo-gu, Busan
Tel 051-419-4067
➞ 10-minute taxi from Exit 6 of Nampo Station, Busan Subway Line 1
Nearby tourist attractions
Yeongdodaegyo Bridge
Kkangkkangee Arts Village
Chunghak Reservoir Observatory
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