GaN films were grown on the vertical and horizontal reactors by the hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE). The structural and optical characteristics of the GaN films were investigated depending on the reactor-type. GaN epilayers were characterized by double crystal X-ray diffraction (DC-XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL). Surface defects of two kinds of the GaN films were revealed by the wet chemical etching method, using $H_3PO_4$ acid at $200^{circ}C$ for 8 minutes. Hexagonal etch pits were analyzed by optical microscopy and SEM. Etch pit densities were calculated to be approximately $1.4{ imes}10^7$ and $1.2{ imes}10^6;cm^{-2}$ for GaN layers grown on horizontal and vertical reactors, respectively. Those results show GaN grown in the vertical reactor having a better quality of optical properties and crystallinity than that in the horizontal reactor.