Jinju, Gyeongsangnamdo ─ “Write Your Name in Korea” is a global tourism campaign conducted by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). Names of the first 23,000 participants are engraved on Sang Sang Gil in Changwon, located on the southern coast of Korea. Hope you imagine and explore more about Korea through our Sang Sang Gil with 23,000 names on the road. Come and see how your name has been engraved on Sang Sang Gil!
Rating: ☆☆★ ( 2.5 / 5 )
– Well, I guess you might be not interested in here, if you didn’t engrave your name.
Have you ever thought about your nameplate could be on the street like Hollywood Walk of Fame? It might be hard to get such a chance unless you are super famous. Imagine that you can leave your handprints, signature autograph, or the stars of fame! Btw, you could do that before cement is completely bonded but it would be illegal when you drawn it on private property.
Can you imagine that you are with famous Korean stars?
KTO offered you a chance to write your name on the street in Korea – and that is completely legal. Sang Sang Gil is located in Changdong Art Village of Changwon, a historical city preserving its beauty for 250 years. Many K-POP celebs, includes KARA, 4MINUTE, Krystal of f(x) and so on, left their names on this walk of fame.
4Minute (from right side of picture, Jiyoon, Hyuna, Sohyun, Jihyun.)
KTO and the City of Changwon had renovated Burim traditional market. In 1980s, Burim Changdong district was the richest town in Masan in the bygone era. However, it was losing its prosperity, going to be a slum. Municipal governor tried to change outdated bazaar into an artist cluster. Changdong Art Village is still on controversies. It couldn’t satisfy neither local artists nor market vendors. Artists were disappointed due to inconvenient location and facilities. Vendors felt bad too, because artists wouldn’t be profitable for their business.
During renovation, KTO made a suggestion about street tiles to make this place much popular. They had done a campaign from Aug 20 to Sep 30, 2015, but most applicants enrolled early in the event. Construction was finished on Sep 15, unfortunately just a few people can get their name plate on Sang Sang-gil because of limited space.
How to come to Changwon
Take intercity bus, plane, or KTX express train. You can simply transfer to City Tour Bus at Masan railway station in Changwon. Immerse yourself in the stunningly beautiful landscape of Changwon, the planned metropolitan landscape on the southern coast of Korea.
From Seoul
Bus 4 hours from Seoul Express Bus Terminal to Masan Bus Terminal
Airplane 1 hour from Gimpo International Airport to Gimhae International Airport
Train 3 hours from Seoul Station to Masan Station by KTX
From Busan
Bus 1 hour from Busan Seobu Bus Terminal (Sasang) to Masan Intercity Bus Terminal
Car 30 minutes from Gimhae International Airport
Train 30 minutes from Busan Station to Masan Station
How to get to Sang Sang Gil in Changwon
City Tour Bus will bring you right to Sang Sang Gil; participants will be able to enjoy the free, comfortable ride with the gift voucher provided.
I little bit disappointed about Sangsang-gil, that doesn’t look like what I imagine. When it was launched, street was very clean and your name plate was quite fancy. But few days ago I visited, many tiles were cracked and got dirty. Someone spit a gum on your name on the street. It makes me feel really strange.
Even though you have not left your name on Walk of non-fame, Changdong Art Village is still fascinating. Graffiti all around, crafts and artworks for sale, Korean traditional food! (But market vendor speaks only in Korean, and far away from kindness. I had pretended to be foreigner, then they tried to deceive me! I already saw the price of tteokbokki stew was ￦3,000, but owner said “It is ￦5,000!” Make no sense.)
If you missed your name on street – well, it doesn’t be matter, you can find your name on the book of name. The book is accessible on the first floor of Changdong Art Centre in Changdong Art Village. (Changdong Art Center Opening Hours: 11am ~ 6pm, Closed on Mondays) If you need help in here, you can visit Guesthouse Rhizome, nearby Sangsang-gil. They can make translation or guide you to some tourist attraction.
Folk musicians performed, and street art exhibition held regularly. Sometimes, local artist will give you a lesson of drawing class without cost. If you have passion in arts, Changdong is one of remarkable place I had visited in Korea, like Busan Gamcheon cultural village, Changwon Gagopa Kkoburang-gil Mural Village.
Right! Gagopa Kkoburang-gil is not so far from Changdong, So visiting both places I would like to recommend you when you visited Changwon.
……………………………………………………………………
Ryu, Sungyoung
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Canada
Categories: 2016, 2017 ARTICLES BY TOPIC
Well, 4Minute has disbanded just right after posting this article. (ಠ╭╮ಠ Very spooky)
Are the engrave names and the paved street still there today? any idea?
Sure. Why not? It was a periodical event, but paved street endured.