Tatami Rooms in Japanese Colonial-Era Houses and Mornings in the Alleys: Staying at Old Downtown Guesthouses

If you felt it a pity to see the Japanese-style House in Sinheung-dong only from outside, there is the option of spending a night in a real modern-era wooden house. 'Stay, Meomum' in Sinheung-dong is a private-house lodging in a carefully restored house left by the Japanese, built in the 1920s. Its two buildings, A and B, are each used by one group only. It keeps the rafters and window proportions of the old wooden house while adding modern comforts for a private stay.

If you want to feel the mood of the same period by the room, 'Guesthouse Iut,' in a renovated 1930s Japanese-style house, is a welcome choice. It has 6 Korean-style rooms in all, and from its rooftop terrace you can look out over the low roofs of the Time Travel Village area.

One big feature of Gunsan's guesthouses is that they mostly offer Korean-style rooms with heated floors, let by the room so only your own group stays, instead of dormitories where you share beds with strangers. 'Daho,' in a renovated Japanese colonial-era house in the alley across from Iseongdang, has 9 rooms let by the room, with no dormitory, and a large yard. It is ideal for buying fresh-baked bread the moment Iseongdang opens at 08:00 and eating it in the yard.

'Soseol Yeohaeng' has a cafe space and a parking lot on the 1st floor of a building in the style of a Japanese colonial-era house and runs 4 Korean-style rooms. 'Haneul' is a small stay with 4 Korean-style rooms right next to Chowon Photo Studio, the filming location of Christmas in August. Both offer the coziness of home in the heart of the old downtown.

Not only colonial-era buildings but also lodging buildings from the industrialization era of the 1970s–1980s have been reborn as stylish guesthouses. 'Dongguk', across from the entrance to Dongguksa Temple, is a remodeled 1970s inn with 7 rooms let by the room and a shared lounge. On a morning walk, you can be the first to reach the bamboo grove of Dongguksa Temple.

'Chaekbang,' in the middle of the Time Travel Village, is a stay made from a 40-year-old former inn. Every heated-floor room has its own toilet, so you can feel the mood of the old building with less of the bother of shared bathrooms.

All seven generally use check-in at 15:00 and check-out at 11:00, and each is within a 5-minute walk of the old downtown's main sights. For a fully independent space and an atmospheric whole house, we recommend 'Stay, Meomum.' If an early run to Iseongdang at opening and a large yard matter to you, we recommend 'Daho.'

If you must have parking, pick 'Soseol Yeohaeng' or 'Dongguk,' which have parking lots. If you prefer an heated-floor room with its own toilet, pick 'Chaekbang' and you cannot go wrong.