The Chungjangno Festival is also running as planned, Oct 13th- 18th. (There is just too much to do in Gwangju this month - Design Biennale, Kimchi Festival, GIPAF, Chungjangno Festival.) Last night I caught my first glimpse of a parade in Chungjangno, with two high school marching bands, a new see for me in Korea.
There are a lot of boutiques, cafes, restaurants and galleries to check out downtown. These are some of my new finds and favorites.
Downtown behind GIC is Golden Rabbits Cafe which is attached to Gallery D. You can still check out the Mudeundan inspired exhibition which seems to be running a bit longer than anticipated at Gallery D. It has a little bit of everything - sculpture, photography, multimedia, and design in addition to watercolors and oils.
Bottle Cafe and Bistro was discovered in a walk past First Nepal (the best Indian food in Chungjangno). The decor reminded me of Rue de la Course in New Orleans. Serving a robust list of coffees and teas, it also has Italian food. I don't know if the spaghetti sauce is laced with too much gochujang. Let me know if you eat there.
Additionally, by Grand Piatto (once the only Italian food in Gwangju, it's now a nasty mix of grossly sauced pizzas and pasta. The decor looks cool, but don't be fooled!) is Cafe Serendipity (different from the coffee franchise Serendip) as well as MK Cafe to grab a coffee after some good eats in Chungjangno. There is also another cafe/coffee bar nearby, the name I can't recall, but looks like SingSing's husband Hong's wine bar, Truffaut, which is also in downtown.
Chungjangno will close off the streets for parades and some stage performances in front of the old dojung fountain. The corner stage and park will also be a nice place to catch some street performances. Lemon Table, Olive Cafe, Gloria Jean's Coffee, Al-Arab and Thali all offer great food and coffee while you watch the crowds.
I've labeled things on this wikimapia link:
http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=35.147727&lon=126.9184667&z=18&l=0&m=b&v=1
