Hocheon Village
Address: 1517-8, Beomcheon-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan
How to get there
By bus: There are few different buses that run between the station and the village, but the quickest and easiest route is if you take the #87 bus from Busan station and ride it for 15 stops, which takes about 20 mins, and get off at Hocheon Village Entrance bus stop. This takes directly to the entrance of the village so you choose your own route around the village from there. Unless you want a challenging hike, I strongly recommend you take the bus or a taxi to this location!
The Village
Despite not being as popular or well-known as Gamcheon Culture Village, there are many reasons to visit Busan's Hocheon Village! Located on a mountainside, the colourful houses and stairs famously became the filming location of the popular drama, 'Fight for My Way' (쌈 마웨이). There are a few reminders of the drama here and there, so you can take a stroll and walk in the footsteps of the characters and relive some of the famous scenes. I'll talk more about the drama later.
During the Joseon Period, tigers freely roamed Korea making forest and mountain roads extremely dangerous places to be. These days, all of the wild tigers in Korea are gone, but their legacy remains and is reflected in the beautiful murals you can spot dotted around the village. It is a very quiet and peaceful place to visit, and it's important to remember that it is a real village with people living and working there.
Whilst the day time views are great, I've heard that the night view is even better. Sadly I was unable to visit at night, but I will definitely be going back to take in the romantic views of the warm street lights that glow in the winding alleyways.
'Fight For My Way' Drama Filming Location
As mentioned, Hocheon Village was used as the primary filming location for the famous drama, 'Fight for My Way'. Still there are a few reminders of the drama dotted around the upper part of the village. Starting at the Hocheon Cultural Platform (literally a minute's walk from the bus stop), you'll see a sign for the drama as well as a photo zone with cut outs of the two main characters sitting on a bench against the backdrop of the village. This area became 'Namil Bar'; a place the characters would often visit at night to eat tteokbokki, drink soju, and pour their hearts out to one another. These days it has become a traditional for the villagers to hang empty soju bottles filled with messages about their troubles or dreams.
If you walk back towards the bus stop and then bear left down the slope, you can begin to walk down the mountainside slope towards the village. Along the way, you'll see a few murals painted on the walls which represent the village's past. After passing these, you'll see another pink sign with information about a few other sites to visit in the village. At the sign, if you walk forward you will notice a small villa with colourful steps and pretty flowers. This building is the real 'Namil Bar', which is in fact a residential house so you can't go any further than this and should just enjoy from afar.
The sign also has directions to '180 Steps'. Whilst there are many steps in the village, these steps are particularly famous because we see them throughout the drama. It's known as the place the main characters often meet when they leave their homes, and many other incidents happen there. So, if you head back up the hill, walking on the left of the road, towards the bus stop you'll eventually reach another bus stop. Embarrassingly, it took me a long time to find these steps, but they're directly behind the bus stop. There's a small plaque on the wall with information about them. They are best viewed by going down the steps and looking up because each step is tiled creating the image of cascading water with fish and floating water lilies. Sadly I didn't get a good picture of that because my bus was about to arrive!
So why not pay a visit to Hocheon Village? It may not be as popular as Gamcheon Culture Village, but it certainly is just as beautiful. You can spend the hours tracing the steps of your favourite characters, or simply enjoy the peace and quiet and pretty views around the village. Whether you visit during the day or at night, I'm sure the time you spend at Hocheon Village will be a memorable one.
