Gunsan Day Trip: Retro Railroad Village, Bread and Museums

The two-story Japanese-style wooden house in Sinheung-dong, Gunsan, seen from its garden

By YUNA, my pen name. I read the official pages, then tell you what I’d do.

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Last checked: November 2, 2026

Go to Gunsan on any day but Monday, take the express bus, and spend your day on foot in the old harbor district. The history museum and Hirotsu House close every Monday. I’d book the earliest morning bus you can manage, and your ride home at the same time.

Quick answer

  • 🚌 Getting there: express bus from Central City Terminal, Seoul
  • 🍜 Don’t miss: red bean bread at Iseongdang, from 8 a.m. (closed 2 or 3 days a month)
  • 🗓️ Don’t go: on a Monday

How do you get to Gunsan from Seoul?

The front of Gunsan Station, a stop on the Janghang Line in Gunsan
Gunsan Station on the Janghang Line, in Gunsan. Photo: Minseong Kim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I’d take the bus. Korea JoongAng Daily’s June 2026 guide to Gunsan starts with an express bus from Central City Terminal in Seoul to Gunsan Express Bus Terminal. Trains also run to Gunsan Station.

I couldn’t read times or fares on the official booking sites, KOBUS for express buses and Korail for trains, so I’ve left those numbers out.

When you book, compare the travel times and check the last bus or train back to Seoul before you choose a morning departure. If udeung (우등), the roomier seat class, is on offer, I’d pay the extra for a long day there and back.

Gunsan City lists eight tourist information centers, all open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including ones at Gunsan Station, Gyeongam-dong, and Dongguksa. If you arrive before 10 a.m., the center won’t be open yet. From the station or the bus terminal, I’d look up the city bus or a taxi to Gyeongam-dong in a map app.

Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village: the tracks between the houses

An old single-track railway running along the inner harbor area of Gunsan
Gunsan’s old Inner Harbor railway, a separate line near the museums. Photo: Trainholic, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gyeongam-dong is an old freight line that runs between rows of low houses. VISITKOREA’s accessible travel page says it opened in 1944 to carry newsprint materials between a paper mill and Gunsan Station, and trains don’t run on it anymore, so you can walk right down the track.

You’ll find it at 14 Gyeongchon 4-gil, and it has its own tourist information office. VISITKOREA lists the village as open at all hours, every day of the year. I’d go there first and leave the old town for the afternoon.

JoongAng Daily mentions school uniform rental here, and dalgona sugar candy. If you’d like a photo in a school uniform on the tracks, ask about the rental when you get there.

Iseongdang: Korea’s oldest bakery, says VISITKOREA

Bread on display shelves inside the Iseongdang bakery in Gunsan
Inside Iseongdang, which VISITKOREA calls Korea’s oldest bakery. Photo: Minseong Kim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

VISITKOREA calls Iseongdang the oldest bakery in Korea, established in 1945. You’ll find it at 177 Jungang-ro. It opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, though winter hours may be shorter.

VISITKOREA names two signature breads: red bean bread (danpatppang) and vegetable bread (yachaeppang).

💬 Say it in Korean

단팥빵 하나 주세요

Danpatppang hana juseyo

“One red bean bread, please.” Swap in yachaeppang for the vegetable bread.

Iseongdang closes two or three times a month, on dates it posts online. If the bakery is your main reason for the trip, I’d check its notice the week you go or call the number VISITKOREA lists, +82-63-445-2772.

Hirotsu House and Dongguksa: Japan-era Gunsan

The main hall of Dongguksa in Gunsan, a wooden temple with a steep tiled roof
Dongguksa, the Japanese-style Buddhist temple on the same walking course. Photo: Minseong Kim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hirotsu House is a Japanese-style home from 1925 at 17 Guyeong 1-gil. You can’t go inside, because the city has kept the interior closed since February 2015 to protect it. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday, you can see the garden from outside. VISITKOREA says last entry is 20 minutes before closing, so get there by 4:40 p.m.

JoongAng Daily notes that scenes from Tazza (2006) and Nameless Gangster (2012) were filmed here. Gunsan City puts it on the same Time-Travel Village walking course as Dongguksa and Chowon, so you can walk between all three.

On the same course, Dongguksa is a working Buddhist temple that Gunsan City calls the only Japanese-style temple left in Korea. A monk of Japan’s Soto Zen school founded it in 1909, and it took its current name in 1955. Its main hall was built in the Japanese Edo style.

Chowon Photo Studio, at 12-1 Guyeong 2-gil, is the set of Christmas in August, the 1998 film starring Han Suk-kyu and Shim Eun-ha. It’s about 305 meters, a 4-minute walk, from the Time-Travel Village tourist information center. It was a garage before the film, was torn down after filming as promised to the owner, and the city later rebuilt it. Entry is free.

Gunsan City and VISITKOREA both list it as open 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays. They differ on closing days: Gunsan City says it opens every day, while VISITKOREA says it closes on the first and third Mondays.

If you’re short on time, I’d see the Hirotsu House garden and Dongguksa and skip the studio unless you’ve seen the film.

Honest take

Gunsan is a trip for your second or third visit to Korea. If you’ve only got four days, Seoul will fill them.

The modern history district: one ticket, four sites

The red-brick former Bank of Joseon Gunsan branch, now the Gunsan Modern Architecture Hall, with a stone entrance
The former Bank of Joseon in Gunsan, now the Modern Architecture Hall. Photo: Lawinc82, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gunsan’s harbor was a busy port under Japanese rule, and several of its buildings from that time are now museums.

I’d start at the Gunsan Modern History Museum, 240 Haemang-ro, because that’s where your combined ticket is sold. It’s open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from March to October and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from November to February. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, so in winter you need to be inside by 4:30 p.m.

⚠️ Heads-up

The museum is closed every Monday and on January 1. Hirotsu House closes on Mondays too, so a Monday trip misses both the museum and the garden.

Buy the combined ticket for 3,000 won (adult) instead of the 2,000-won museum ticket. It also gets you into three more places:

  • Modern Art Museum: a former Japanese bank branch built in 1911, turned into an art museum in 2013.
  • Modern Architecture Hall: the 1922 Bank of Joseon building.
  • Wibong: a ship on display at Jinpo Marine Theme Park.

If the afternoon runs late, I’d skip the Wibong before Hirotsu House, which stops letting people in at 4:40 p.m.

For lunch, Gunsan’s tourism site lists a jjamppong street, for spicy seafood noodle soup, among its food categories. JoongAng Daily picked Binhaewon’s mul-jjajang, a soupy version of black bean noodles.

What will the day cost?

I can’t give you a full total without official bus and train fares. The fixed costs I could confirm are small: 3,000 won for the combined ticket, and Chowon Photo Studio is free. VISITKOREA’s accessible travel course, based on 2022 information, lists the railroad village as free.

On top of that, you’ll pay your round-trip fare, plus whatever you spend on lunch, bread, and city buses.

Yuna’s pick

Morning: express bus from Central City Terminal, then Gyeongam-dong Railroad Village.

Late morning: Iseongdang for bread.

Lunch: jjamppong or mul-jjajang.

Early afternoon: the combined ticket at the museum.

Before 4:40 p.m.: Hirotsu House garden, then Dongguksa and Chowon.

Evening: the bus or train home you booked in advance.

Check Seoul to Gunsan train prices on Klook

FAQ

Is there a festival in Gunsan in November?

Yes. When I checked, Gunsan City’s notice listed the Gunsan Fireworks Festival on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 8 p.m., around the waterfront park at the Inner Harbor. It starts after the museums close, so if you stay for it, I’d check the last bus or train to Seoul first, or plan to stay the night.

Is Iseongdang open on Mondays?

Yes, unless that Monday is one of the two or three closing days it posts online each month, so check its notice first. If Monday is your only free day, you can still go for the bread and the railroad village.

Can you go inside Hirotsu House?

No. The interior is closed, so you see the house and garden from outside.

Do I need a car?

No. Gunsan City puts Chowon, Hirotsu House, and Dongguksa on one Time-Travel Village walking course, so you can walk between them. For the railroad village, look up the city bus or a taxi in a map app.

Pick a day that isn’t Monday, book your ride home before you go, and get to the museum early in the afternoon. If something here has changed, tell me on the Contact page and I’ll check it.

Hwaiting!

Yuna

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Sources and last check

How I put this guide together: from Gunsan City’s tourism pages, the museum’s own site, VISITKOREA, and Korea JoongAng Daily, checked on November 1 and 2, 2026. Bus and train times and fares are left to KOBUS and Korail, which I couldn’t read. The day plan is my own read. More on how I research every guide is on the About page.

Last checked: November 2, 2026. Hours, fares, and closing days change, so please confirm before you travel. This is an independent guide, not affiliated with Gunsan City or any business named here.

Sources:

Hi, I'm Yuna. I read the Korean-only fine print so your trip doesn't have to start with a puzzle, and then I tell you what I'd pick.

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