We lived there for over one year - few ok kind of bars (military, tinos'). Mind you you can make the best out of any place with the right company. If you are stuck theres'always the nureybang or a short trip into suncheon. When we started there were only 5 other "foreigners" in the Gwangyang, but this rapidly increased.
shopping for food is the worst part - I advise doing a bi-weekly mission into suncheon to stock up on goddies