Huinnyeoul Culture Village

Huinnyeoul sits along the top of a low cliff on the western side of Yeongdo, looking across the water to the container terminals, and the name refers to the white streams that once ran down the slope. The settlement was built by people displaced during the Korean War who had nowhere else to go, on ground nobody wanted, and it stayed poor for decades. From the 2010s the city funded an arts regeneration and the houses were painted white, small cafes and studios opened, and it became a photograph. Below the houses a narrow path, the Jeoryeong coastal walk, runs along the base of the cliff at the waterline for about three kilometres, which is the better half of the visit and much quieter than the lane above. Residents still live here and the lane is narrow. Films have used it, which accounts for the weekend crowds.

What you actually see

• The white cliff lane - houses along the edge, cafes among them.
• The Jeoryeong coastal path - three kilometres at the waterline below.
• The port view - container terminals and shipping across the water.
• The settlement's origin - built by wartime displaced families.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Weekday mornings for the lane. The coastal path below is worth doing whatever the crowd above is like.

Honest expectations

People live here - the lane is narrow, residential and often full. The cafes are the commercial layer, not the place itself. The coastal path has steps and is exposed in bad weather.

Nearby

Taejongdae is at the far end of Yeongdo; Nampo and Jagalchi are across the bridge.