Took the Gwangju subway from Songjeong Station to go to my accommodation, but stopped for some famous 'Lettuce Fries' (Sangchu Twigim) first. Interestingly, they play a 'choo-choo' sound when the subway arrives here.
My first meal in Gwangju was the Lettuce Fries. The flavor combination was surprisingly good. The greasiness of the fried squid got neutralized by the sweet and sour sauce, and adding the texture of the lettuce made it really unique. Of course, after eating about half, the greasiness became uncontrollable and I got sick of it, so I barely finished and left.
Rested at the lodge for a bit and then went to the Sajik Park Observatory since I missed it yesterday. Since I don't exercise, hiking up was a total nightmare, but I felt great once I got to the top. Seeing the Gwangju cityscape at a glance was really refreshing. Looking from here, Gwangju is a huge city lol. I really felt why it's one of the 6 major metropolitan cities.
Took the subway for dinner to eat 'Yukjeon' (beef pancakes), the highlight of any Gwangju foodie trip. The tables right next to me were all couples or families, and I felt a bit embarrassed just staring blankly alone. They said they don't sell single portions, so I ordered 2 portions, prepared to burst my stomach tonight.
If I had to pick the most surprising taste of the Gwangju trip, it would be the Yukjeon. It's really hard to describe but damn delicious. I can't even put it into words—it’s not just meat pan-fried in egg wash, it's a work of art. Especially eating it with white kimchi or pickled garlic leaves and green onion salad... this combo was fantastic. I couldn't stop being impressed while eating.
This is 2 portions.
For breakfast/lunch on day 2, I grabbed a taxi to the Mudeung-san Barley Rice Street. Hiking Mudeung-san on foot just wasn't happening, so I decided to take the lift up. I went to a famous spot and ordered, and man, the amount of side dishes was insane lol. I mixed about half of those side dishes into the barley rice. They said you're supposed to wrap it in radish greens, but it was actually kind of mid. I felt the greatness of Jeolla-do kimchi here though. FR, it's salty as hell and tasty as hell.
Went to ride the Mudeung-san lift to digest the food, but it wasn't running... tried walking a bit but there was nothing to see and the path was blocked, so I just went back down. But the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and so beautiful. Everyone was walking while looking at the blossoms lol.
Tried the Tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) too, but it got cloying faster than expected. For the first one or two bites, it’s like 'Wow! Delicious!', but just like the Lettuce Fries, it gets harder and harder to swallow... There was nothing to cut the greasiness of the Tteokgalbi, so it got tough. Eventually, I just forced it down with some lettuce wraps. I came for the Tteokgalbi but ended up being more surprised by the taste of the bone soup (ppyeoguk) lol. Since people said Gwangju isn't great for sightseeing, I lowered my expectations there and focused on the food, and I think those expectations were met. I definitely see why people say Jeolla-do food is good. Even the 'bad' food is average, and the Yukjeon or bone soup made me truly admire the taste. I asked some Gwangju locals where the public baths were, and their expressions literally turned cold... Lastly, I want to recommend Gwangju Duck Stew (Ori-tang). If you come down to Gwangju, you HAVE to try it. I barely made it home after a total shitshow of spilling and making a mess, but the taste was on another level...
Next, I went to the Gwangju National Museum. The scale was massive, but it felt more like a prehistoric museum than a Gwangju museum. Prehistoric relics took up almost half. I wanted to see more exhibits related to modern Gwangju, so that was a shame. Still, I picked up some souvenirs at the gift shop lol. I especially liked the design of the eco-bag, so I grabbed one.
On the last day, I tried to look around some tourist spots and went to Gungjeon Bakery for lunch. I bought a bunch of stuff and ate at a cafe, but the 'Dinosaur Egg Bread' (Gongnyong-al-ppang) was pretty meh. It felt like a downgraded version of salad bread inside a baguette? It didn't taste good and looked boring, so I didn't even take a photo lol.
"The OP enjoyed a solid foodie tour of Gwangju, though the community remains divided between praising the legendary food and making the usual regional jokes about it being an 'overseas' destination or lacking tourist spots."
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