Museums and streets of Colonial Mokpo

This was my final day in the area and I wanted to explore more of Mokpo and redo some of my favourite things I did on my last trip in 2021. It didn’t go how I planned on account of how the cable car operates, but it was a fun day of exploring the old town. I walked up and down Yudalsan mountain, explored a few museums and galleries, and found a quaint cafe.

Day 3 of a 3-day trip to Mokpo, Jindo, and Haenam.

Yudalsan Mountain

After waking up, I walked around Yudalsan Park (유달산공원) and then walked up the mountain to the cable car station. I had planned to take the cable car to Gohado Island and have coffee at Cafe Panace, but because this stop in the middle stop of the three-section cable car, it wasn’t possible to get on and go to Gohado directly. I didn’t really want to do the full round trip, so I changed my plans and went instead to explore the old town.

Mokpo old COlonial town

I don’t believe this part of town is officially called ‘Old Town’ but it’s a name I’ll use! It’s basically the old historical, administrative area connected to trade and shipping, a remnant of Japanese colonial rule. It’s a bit like Gunsan on the west coast in that regard. I wandered around the Nojeokbok Art Park (노적봉예술공원) for while before walking downhill to the Mokpo Modern History Museum, Hall 1 (목포근대역사관 1관). This is the first of a few connected museums dotted around the town, and you can visit them one after the other if you follow the yellow signs. It was a public holiday, so the museums were free! It was an interesting look at life during the colonial era. It even had a cave out back used as an air raid shelter.

Happy Home Cafe

There were more historical buildings and other refurbished residential buildings. The whole area is flat with wide streets and the buildings are mainly low. I spotted an old house with a garden and decided that was my first rest stop. It was called Happy Home Cafe(?) (행복이가득한집카페), and the building was probably owned by Japanese business owners in the past. It mentions a 150 year history. It was a two-storey building with a small garden. Upstairs had a terrace. There’s lots of seating and the place is full of bits and bobs from the past. It was a pleasant place to have coffee and cookie before continuing my walk.

I wandered the streets a bit more and found Mokpo History Park (목포진역사공원) park on a hill. There were views around the city and the sea. Nearby was the childhood home of a Korean politician.

Samhakdo Island

Nearby, is Samhakdo Island (), a recreational park area on the coast. It’s connected by road and I got there by walking along the harbour. There’s a kid’s science museum, a croquet area, a marina, some cafes and picnic areas, and walks around a few hills and waters areas. It was okay, but not super interesting. Maybe I was tired!

Mokpo Hall of Popular music

There was time for one more stop before getting the train back to Seoul. I went to the Mokpo Hall of Popular Music (목포대중음악의전당). It’s in an old bank building and was previously a culture centre, so the name on Google Maps is different to its current name. It features historical recreations of music places of the era, a little fake street from the time, plus displays showing the lives of various influential musicians of the time. Some were, of course, from Mokpo. After that, I walked a few minutes to the station and got the 3 pm KTX back to Seoul. I was back in time to have dinner with Romana, then a few highballs at our local Japanese style standing bar!