Dongpirang Mural Village

About this place

Dongpirang is an old hillside neighbourhood above the harbour of Tongyeong in southern South Korea, whose walls have become an open-air gallery of colourful murals. It is one of the best-known mural villages in Korea, and visitors come to wander its lanes and enjoy the harbour view. The local government planned to pull down its old houses, so in 2007 artists volunteered to paint murals on its walls to save it; the idea worked and the neighbourhood survived. The murals are repainted about every two years in a contest, so the village changes over time. At the top of the hill is Dongporu, an old Joseon-era lookout pavilion. You see narrow climbing lanes whose walls are painted with fish, waves, angel wings and sunflowers, and small houses with coloured roofs. From the top Tongyeong harbour appears with its white boats and green islands at sea, and a wooden pavilion stands on a stone wall at the summit. It is about a kilometre from Tongyeong harbour in a straight line. It is a residential area, so respect the residents' quiet and privacy.