All field notes

Colours on the hillside

Gamcheon · Busan

A page with Kapi · 1 min read
Kapi in an illustrated Busan travel scene
Original illustration · not a navigational map

This Busan page needs colour, but also a little care. Gamcheon's hillside settlement grew in the 1950s, when Korean War refugees and followers of Taegeukdo made homes here. Terraced houses and winding lanes hold that history. Art now shares the neighbourhood with the routines of people who live in it.

You do not need to climb every stair to understand a place. At a public resting spot, choose one colour that catches your eye. Leave private doors and windows outside the frame, and let residents pass easily. My little capybara legs would appreciate a sensible pause as well.

I would keep one patch of colour on this page, with a space beside it for the people whose home gives it meaning.

Behind the story

Kapi is a fictional companion. His voice is original storytelling; the historical details below link to their sources.

Saha-gu, Busan — Gamcheon Culture Village

Source review:

Another little discoveryA pebble in the city's name