Off The Beaten Path In Korea: The Hamchang Art Road In Sangju

There are some great places to go in Korea to see artworks and some are so off the beaten path, you really need to be an art lover… or maybe a small town fan. Personally, I love visiting small towns in Korea and hitting townie festivals like the Icheon Sansuyu Festival or visiting the small Hanok Village in Seongju, Gyeongsanbuk-do. Small towns are charming and the people, too. Hamchang in Sangju lived up to my small town expectations with friendly people and the bonus was the scavenger hunt for art.

If you want to get off the beaten path in Korea, take a day trip from Seoul or maybe stay for the weekend in a more local spot with horse stables, art, and museums, then definitely check out Hamchang in Sangju, Korea. This is definitely a place to find if you’re looking for something to do in Gyeongsangbuk-do.

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How To Get To Hamchang

From Seoul, take a bus from Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Hamchang Bus Terminal or Jeomchon Terminal and then go to Hamchang Station. The address for Hamchang Station can be found below in the addresses that are good to know section.

What To Know

Admission: FREE. There is no admission fee for this.

Hours: There are no set hours listed for this, however many of the installations are in private buildings which are locked at night and opened in the morning so visit during standard operating hours and you’ll find things open.

Where To Stay Nearby

STX Resort

STX Resort is one of the best places to stay in the region. Enjoy the gardens and the terraces that overlook them. Enjoy all of the amenities of the resort and the western style rooms. There’s a shuttle service, a 24 hour front desk, and visit the other sites in the region over the weekend. Book your stay at STX Resort here on Booking.com or on Agoda.com

Ramada Resort by Wyndham MungyeongSaejae

The Ramada Resort by Wyndham MungyeongSaejae caters well to couples and families with 24 hour front desk help and a restaurant on site. The rooms feature both Korean style ondol floor beds as well as western style beds. Expect beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and easily find hiking trails into the nearby area. Book your stay here on Booking.com or on Agoda.com

Tour Courses

The entire course will take about two and a half hours if you take your time to see everything. Below are the courses that are recommended along with the name’s of the artistic pieces you can find at each spot. We did almost all of the entire course. We got to districts 1, 2, and 3 and stopped there.

Regular A course (2 hours 30 minutes)

Departure : ① Hamchang Station [Community Center] and [Site] symbol zone → Wall paintings → Cafe stop ⇒ ② Gaya Village Entrance zone [Holy Landscape] → Goryeong Gaya Royal Tomb → [King’s Royal Garden] → [Cocoon Garden] → [Gaya’s Soul] → [Ji:p in House] → [Shelter] → [Gaya’s Myeongju Road] → [Soom] ⇒ ③ Hamchang Traditional Market wall painting 1 zone [Wrestling] → [ART Arcade] → Wall painting 2 [Story of Myeongju] ⇒ ④ Sechang zone (former Sechang Brewery) Brewery [Drink] → [Digital Geomungo] → Laon Textile Gallery, 1-2F → [Gaya Great Song] → Sound performance work → Comic library → [Joakim · Chuyia Gallery] → Art Cafe [Suldoga]

Course B (1 hour 30 minutes)

Departure : ① Hamchang Station [Community Center] and [Site] symbol zone → Wall paintings → Cafe stop ⇒ ② Gaya Village Entrance zone [Holy Landscape] → Goryeong Royal Palace → [King’s Royal Garden] → [Cocoon Garden] → [Gaya’s Soul] → [Zi:p in house] → [Chelter] → [Gaya’s Myeongju Road] → [Soom]

Course C (1 hour 30 minutes)

Departure : ① Hamchang Station [Community Center] and [Site] symbol zone → Wall paintings ⇒ ④ 권역 Sechang zone (former Sechang Brewery) Brewery [Drink] → [Digital Geomungo] → Raon Textile Gallery 1-2F → Sound performance work → Comic library → [Joakim · Chuyia Gallery] → Art Cafe [Suldoga]

Course D (1 hour)

Departure : ② Gaya Village Entrance to the village of Gaya [Holy Landscape] → Goryeong Gaya Royal Tomb → [King’s Royal Garden] → [Cocoon Garden] → [Gaya’s Soul] → [Zi:p in house] → [Shelter] → [Gaya’s Myeongju Road] → [Soom]

Course E (1 hour)

Departure : ④ Sechang zone (former Sechang Brewery) Brewery [Drink] → [Digital Geomungo] → Laon Textile Gallery 1-2F → Gaya Great Song → Sound Performance work → [Joakim · Chuyia Gallery] → Art Cafe [Suldoga]

Addresses To Help You Get Around

Hamchang Station: 경상북도 상주시 함창읍 가야로 2 (Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Hamchang-eub Gaya-ro 2)

Gaya Village: 경상북도 상주시 함창읍 증촌리 (Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Hamchang-eub Jeungchon-ri)

Hamchang Traditional Village: 경상북도 상주시 함창읍 구향리 (Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Hamchang-eub Guhyang-ri)

Sechang Zone: 경상북도 상주시 함창읍 함창중앙로 131 (Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Hamchang-eub Hamchang Jungang-ro 131)

What To See

The whole town is an art museum! The Hamchang Art Road was created under the ‘Maeulmisul Project’ which was begun to contribute to regional vitalization and was meant to create more opportunities for local people to enjoy art. Because it was meant to do this, it was a bit humorous when we asked neighbors where to find this or that and they said they didn’t know and asked others who also weren’t quite sure what we were going on about. What’s more, the local library attendant knew what we were talking about, but had to call others for help in directing us. Is it worth finding? Totally. Are the locals aware it’s there? Doesn’t seem like it, but they might start remembering when tourists start showing up.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the project in Hamchang was completed in two phases with the first being in 2014 followed by the second in 2015. Okay, so maybe that’s why they’ve forgotten, but it’s still up and running.

Weave through town and visit some of the derelict buildings to find art installations that are a mixture of townie and folksy installations and modern and abstract pieces. Visit the installations and you’ll end up seeing the “downtown” area of this village and inevitably meeting the people that live there.

Artworks were placed in four districts of town and one installation is a line that has been etched into the pavement to take you from piece to piece and building to building. The four districts are labeled with four Chinese characters that form an idiom that means good things happen again and again. Follow the silk string and good things will come? Indeed.

In 2014, the goal of the project was to promote the region under the theme of ‘silk’ which is where the idea for etching the ‘string of silk’ into the ground came from. It circles this way and that like a twirling piece of silk. If you take children, it’s definitely a great way to keep them focused and on the hunt for artistic works.

In 2015, the goal was to produce artworks WITH the residents of Hamchang to showcase more of the Hamchang residents and their stories that could be woven to form an artistic identity. While some of the artworks have been left to the outdoor elements and that makes them a bit eerie in the derelict buildings, others are taken care of behind doors that are locked each night and opened again in the morning.

Start at Hamchang Train Station that is an unmanned train station today. Look for both an artistic map and a more realistic map of the installations in the area. There are also pictures of the installations around the city and a few to start with. Make sure to walk out back to see the train tracks and as you head back in, you’ll see a door to the right of the main door that you exited from that has pictures of the 2015 additions. Take pics of the maps for later as there were no paper ones that we could find and remember which installations are must sees if you don’t want to scope them all out.

This is truly an art scavenger hunt and that’s important to remember. You may find things and you may not. As mentioned, the train station is unmanned, many of the buildings are too so you’re really on your own here. That said, you should have enough information in the maps I’ve shared, which are the ones there, to get around. I’ve gone a bit further and added VERY USEFUL addresses below which I highly suggest marking down. These weren’t anywhere that we found, but once we had them, helped us map out the route a bit better.

Since it was really hot and humid the day we went and we were toting two toddlers around, we chose to do a bit more than half of the path. It was awesome and such a great way to get the kids out to see things.

Where To Eat In Hamchang

보리랑두부랑 (Barley & Tofu): As we walked down the main road in the area, I poked my head into an open shop that sold flooring and asked the owner if he could recommend a restaurant in the area. Seeing us, he immediately recommended a kimbab restaurant that is the fast food of Korea. I chuckled and asked him if he could recommend something more local and his second recommendation was this little spot that specializes in tofu. Run by some local women, the meal was delicious. This is just near stop 2 in the course so if you plan it right, it’s a good spot halfway to stop for a bite.

Address: Gyeongsangbuk-do Sangju-si Hamchang-eub Hamchang Jungang-ro 133 (경북 상주시 함창읍 함창중앙로 133)
Hours: 8:00am ~ 8:30pm

This is just one of the amazing artistic experience you can have in Korea and there are plenty of others. Want something that just outstanding? Check out the Youngwol Y Park. You won’t be disappointed there. There are also forests that feature some really whimsical installations like the Yeonmisan Art Park and the Anyang Art Park or the Gimpo Sculpture Park. More spots to get on your radar if you’re interested in artistic places to go and find include:

the Yugu Mural Village in Gongju
the Huinnyeoul Culture Village in Busan
Ant Village in Seoul
Mullae-dong Street Art in Seoul

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