In 2019, Korea commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first Korean film production "Righteous Revenge" by Kim Do-san. As a student of film and a movie aficionado, I decided to visit the city of Gunsan, mostly because Gunsan was the location for many famous movies like “Christmas in August”, “Ode to the Goose”, “Man in Love” and many others.

Embodied with a well-preserved diversity of architecture dated from the Japanese occupation, makes Gunsan a unique place to visit and explore.

Entrance of Dongguksa Temple

Main hall of Dongguksa Temple

My trip to Gunsan started at the Central City Bus terminal, right beside the Express Bus Terminal. Here there is a wide range of options of buses, from the simpler and cheaper to more sophisticated and comfier. There is a bus every 20-30 minutes, but always be careful with the buses after 6pm, those buses tend to be sold out earlier. The price of the buses goes from 13,800won for the simpler buses to 28,700won for the premium buses, which have a more comfortable seat.

Garden at Dongguksa Temple

After arriving in Gunsan, my first destination was the Dongguksa Temple. This temple is special because it is the only remaining Buddhist temple with Japanese architecture in the Korean peninsula. It is also the film location of the film “Ode to the Goose.”

It is also the film location of the film “Ode to the Goose.” It is interesting how the movie characters just wander around the city, and how the touristic spots are so close and within a good walking distance, like in the movie.

Statue of a Girl of Peace at Dongguksa Temple

Bamboo forest behind the temple

Also behind the temple there is a bamboo forest, a perfect place for beautiful pictures that have a different view of the temple.

Not very far from the Dongguksa Temple is the Sinheung-dong neighborhood. The quantity of Japanese-style traditional houses is impressive within this area, all of them converted to coffee shops, tea houses, museums and guest houses. In the direction of the next destination, Hirotsu House, I could recognize some of the locations for the films “Ode to the Goose” and “Christmas in August.” The streets of Gunsan sometimes appear to have stopped in time.

Inside Hirotsu House

Sometimes I feel like I’m walking in the 30’s, on another street I feel I’m in the 60’s, and on the next corner in the late 90’s. Hirotsu House is a Japanese style house, one of the biggest in the neighborhood, and we can freely enter its Japanese style garden full of colorful fish. Unfortunately, the access to the interior of the house was closed for visits during the morning, and we can only visit it during afternoon, from 2pm to 4pm.

The house is also closed on Mondays.

Inside Hirotsu House, within a traditional Japanese garden

Not very far from the Hirotsu House, we could find the Chowon Photo Studio, the location for the film “Christmas in August”.

Front of Chowon Photo Studio

Inside of Chowon Photo Studio

It is impressive how much was preserved from the film. The place was converted into a cultural center where we can even take a photo in a studio like in the film. It is delightful that much of the place was well preserved, the photographs, old cameras, the benches, everything was there. On one of the walls we can see the storyline of the film, each scene explained, showing the importance of that photo studio.

Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village with shops

After exploring Sinheung-dong, we decide to visit our next touristic spot: Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village. This place was special because it’s filled with history, and a perfect place to take photos. As a unique location, Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village was also a location for the films “Ode to the Goose” and “Man in Love”. One unique aspect of this village is that it has an old railroad passing through it, turning it into a unique place to visit during the stay in Gunsan.

Colorful autumn colors at Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village

There is also a place to rent clothes from different time periods of Korea and, additionally, it is possible to try traditional Korean snacks, like hotteok, a traditional Korean sweet pancake and topokki.

Detail in the wall at Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village

Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village is a must visit if you are in Gunsan!

H Motel main entrance

Located nearby the Gunsan Modern History Museum, H Motel makes every aspects of the travel comfortable. The hotel is within walking distance of the bus terminal and from many must see touristic spots like Gunsan Modern History Museum, Jangmi Gallery & Entertainment Hall, Hirotsu House, Chowon Photo Studio, Dongguksa Temple, everything with a maximum of 15 minutes of walking distance, and many coffee shops and tea houses along the way to offer the best of drinks.

H Motel corridor

The rooms are pretty spacious and have a fair quantity of sun light, with the old downtown of Gunsan having mostly the buildings with one or two floors, H Motel has a good view of the old city and the Geumgang River and its beautiful encounter with the Yellow Sea. To arrive to H Motel you can just walk from the bus terminal, since the city is flat you can easily arrive to the hotel within few minutes, but if you are coming by train from the Gunsan Station, you can take buses No. 17, 18, 19 and leave after 25 stops at the bus stop Jukseong Crossroad. The distance from the bus stop is merely 200 meters. The Motel is located right in a highly touristic zone, making your stay very convenient.

H Motel inside the room

One advantage is that the Motel offers a breakfast with no extra charge, which you can enjoy before leaving for your journey. Also, a free ice cream for each person is offered. The service time for the breakfast is between 7 to 9 in the morning.

The motel is run by a family, so they are very polite and try their best to offer the best service. Even not understanding English fully, the check-in and check-out were without misunderstandings. Each room was well furnished, and everything looked pretty new, mostly because the motel opened in April of this year. The heating system works without issues, and the hot water system for the shower worked without major problems.

H Motel inside the room

Right in the main lobby of the motel, you can access free booklets and pamphlets of Gunsan touristic spots. I highly recommend getting the pamphlet of the walking stamp tour. Those stamp tours have a map of the city and give you different ways to fully enjoy the city. The touristic spots are located mostly at the center of the city, and after getting 9 stamps you get a special prize (a beautiful magnet with a Gunsan touristic spot drawing in it).