One day in Damyang: a Joseon garden, a bamboo hill, and the levee path

Damyang sits half an hour north of Gwangju, and most visitors give it one stop: the bamboo grove at Juknokwon (죽녹원). A better route takes in more of it. Start at a sixteenth-century garden, go on to the bamboo, then walk a riverbank forest to the road everyone photographs.

Soswaewon, before the coaches arrive

Soswaewon (소쇄원) is a private garden laid out in the 1500s by the scholar Yang San-bo, built around a mountain stream rather than over it. Bus 187 from Gwangju stops near the entrance. Arrive at opening and the pavilions, the earthen wall, and the channel running beneath it are mostly yours. The garden was made for the sound of water as much as the view, so sit a while on the floor of Gwangpunggak.

소쇄원이라는 이름에는 맑고 깨끗하다는 뜻이 담겨 있다.

Juknokwon, away from the gate

A taxi into town takes about twenty minutes. Juknokwon covers a hillside of tall bamboo crossed by eight named trails. The crowds stay near the gate, so take the loops up the back of the hill, where the stems close overhead and the air cools. Allow ninety minutes.

The levee forest to Metasequoia-gil

Cross the river below Juknokwon to Gwanbangjerim (관방제림), a row of old zelkova and hackberry trees planted along a flood embankment in the seventeenth century. It is free, flat, and residents walk it every day. About two kilometres on, it brings you out at Metasequoia-gil, which you reach as the end of a walk rather than as a photo stop.

The noodle street beside the levee serves anchovy-broth guksu (국수) with eggs simmered in the same pot. For dinner, order tteokgalbi (떡갈비), minced short rib grilled as patties, often served with daetongbap, rice steamed in a length of bamboo. Intercity buses return to Gwangju from the terminal in town.