중학교 영어 2 (동아출판 윤정미) 연계 글

Imagine a village where the walls look like pages from a picture book. Korea has several villages like this, and people call them mural villages. A mural is a large painting on a wall. Here is a short guide to two of the most popular ones.

Gamcheon Culture Village sits on a steep hill in Busan. Its small houses stand in rows, so from far away the village looks like a pile of colorful boxes. However, it did not always look so cheerful. During the Korean War, many families escaped to Busan and built small homes on this hill. The village used to be poor and quiet, and many of its walls used to be gray and cracked. Years later, artists and residents started to paint the old walls together. The murals that they created turned the whole hill into an outdoor gallery. Today, visitors walk along its narrow paths and find new pictures almost everywhere.

Dongpirang is a smaller village on a hill above the harbor in Tongyeong. Its story is even more surprising. The city once had a plan to tear down the old houses and build a park there. Then a local group held a painting contest, and artists from across the country covered the walls with bright pictures. Soon visitors started to arrive, and the city changed its plan. Many of the houses which the city wanted to remove are still standing today.

Before you visit, remember one important fact. These villages are not museums. Real people live behind the painted walls, so keep your voice down and never look into their windows. The paths that you will climb are steep, so wear comfortable shoes. Also, take your trash home with you.

A mural can make an ordinary wall beautiful. In these villages, however, paint did even more. It gave old neighborhoods a second life and turned a whole community into a canvas.