Chungjang-ro and Geumnam-ro form the downtown spine of Gwangju, a busy pedestrian-and-transit area of shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, and underground shopping passages. It is not pretty in a postcard sense, but it is where the city feels most awake.
The streets also matter historically. They sit close to the Asia Culture Center and the former provincial office area, so an evening here can follow a day spent with Gwangju's more serious civic memory.