Heyri Art Valley (Day 6)

Heyri Art Valley (헤이리 문화예술마을)  is a lovely and picturesque arts enclave located in Paju province in Gyeonggi-do. It’s mind-boggling to know that this place is just a mere 6km away from the North Korean border!

The village was first set up in 1995 as a place for artists to take refuge and create art in the countryside.  A number of Korean and international artists, writers, painters, actors, architects and musicians have all set up their artistic spaces, work rooms, museums, and galleries here. One can simply spend a full day here just wandering in and out of the galleries!

We visited on a weekday afternoon and there were only a handful of people around. It was utterly peaceful and quiet. I suppose it will be much more crowded over the weekends when the Seoulites come to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

I first got to know about Heyri Art Valley because it is a very common filming location for many kdramas and variety shows. Many of the buildings here have very interesting and distinctive architecture and I instantly recognised some of them from the shows I’ve watched previously! Needless to say, many of the buildings were designed by top Korean architects and will definitely be of interest to architecture buffs.

Nestled among the galleries are also bookstores and restaurants whose interiors are sooooo incredibly nice and posh that they wouldn’t be out of place in an ID magazine. If I had all the time in the world, I can imagine myself spending an afternoon here and just chilling with a good book and a cold drink!

Admission to the Heyri Art Valley is free, but some of the museums and attractions require paid entry.

How to get here:

We took a taxi from Kintex to Heyri Art Valley and the cab ride took about 30 minutes. Along the way, our taxi driver even pointed out the North Korean border and we could see barbed wires and a lookout observatory along the river! If you’re coming from central Seoul, you can also take subway Line 2 to Hapjeong Station and hop on bus #2200 from Exit 2 (50mins).