For anyone who has trouble finding all those “landmarks” in Gwangju that most of the expat community talk about or arrange to meet at there is now a map available on Google Maps to help you make in time for the first beer on a Friday after work.

At the moment the map mainly covers the downtown and Sangmu areas with a few things elsewhere but it is open for editing so hopefully it will grow to cover all areas of the city and surrounding parts like Hwasun.  If there is something you think would be useful for others to know about simply add it to the map with as much information as you can.

In Korea everything seems to stick to the “빨리빨리” (Hurry Hurry) theory, including construction so an open map is a perfect way of spreading details of the shops and restaurants that pop up all over the city. Those that silently disappear after a few months can also be updated with a note to let everyone know if it is closed or moved. There is nothing worse than getting ready for dinner at a good restaurant on the other side of the city only to turn up and find out it closed a few weeks ago so if the map is kept up to date with both openings and closures it could save the inconvenience of using old information.

The map is open for anyone to edit so should grow quite quickly but with this type of open collaboration there is always a risk of malicious damage which is why it may be necessary to close the editing and restrict it to request only (last resort).  If everyone sticks to the guidelines at the link below then the map should become a very useful resource for everyone in Gwangju.

GO TO THE MAP

- Owen Kerr