Fill In Your Neighborhood by Coloring the Alleys You’ve Explored on a Map
A Game of Filling In the Map
People tend to take the same routes every day: home to the station, home to the supermarket. We call it “our neighborhood,” but the streets we have actually walked are often less than 30% of the whole area. So if you set a rule that you only color in alleys you have walked, the uncolored white alleys start catching your eye and give you a reason to think, “I should go there next.”
| Section | Key summary |
|---|---|
| A Game of Filling In the Map | People tend to take the same routes every day: home to the station, home to the supermarket |
| Starter Supplies and Budget | Short key point |
| Difficulty | Difficulty: 1 star |
| First Try: Step-by-Step | Print a map with a 500m radius around your home on one A4 sheet |
This is especially good for people who find it hard to go for a walk without a specific destination. It gives you a clear mission: “Today I’m going to fill in that white section.”
Starter Supplies and Budget
| Item | Description | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood map | Print a 500m radius on A4 paper | 100-500 won |
| Highlighter or colored pencils | Color in the streets you walked | 2,000-5,000 won |
| Clear file | Protect the map from rain and sweat | 1,000 won |
| Optional: corkboard | Hang it on the wall | 5,000-10,000 won |
The total is under about 5,000 won. For the map, you can capture and print a portal map screen, or take a photo of a local guide map, enlarge it, and print it. Any scale is fine as long as the alleys are clearly visible.
Difficulty
Difficulty: 1 star. There is nothing difficult about it, but do set one rule: “Only color roads I have walked on with my own two feet.” Do not color roads you only passed through by car. This rule is what makes the game meaningful.
First Try: Step-by-Step
- Print a map with a 500m radius around your home on one A4 sheet. For the first round, this size is about right for one month.
- First, color the roads you already use often, such as home to the station, in gray to mark your “base area.”
- On each walk, aim for 2 or 3 white alleys, then come back and color those roads with colored pencil.
- Make small notes beside the map for dead ends, stairs, and small shops inside alleys.
- Once you fill in one sheet, start round 2 with a new map expanded to a 1km radius.
- Write the date on completed maps and keep them. In 1 or 2 years, they will become your own neighborhood atlas.
After just one month, you will discover shops you never noticed, quiet parks, and new shortcuts. By the time the whole map is colored in, you will have become a true neighborhood expert who can answer almost any local question.