Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ed1980]

is it any good ?

[mount real]

Which one? There are many, in many different cities...mine in Jeonju rules, lots of stuff to see plus on Saturday nights you get a free traditionnal music concert, in front of about 30 people, plus they give you a snack after!!!!! how about that! nice-uh.......

[ed1980]

really ?

whereabouts is that ?

is that the one on this website.... www.koranfolk.co.kr ???

[jajdude]

The one in Yongin is worth a visit.

Is that www.koreanfolk.co.kr

[mount real]

In Jeonju it's called Kyeong-Gi-Jon and it's in the Ha-Nok-Ma-Eul (Traditionnal Folk Village) and you can see the portraits from the Jo-Seon dynasty (the family came from Jeonju) around a nice largish temple site, and the whole place can be a wonderful day of culture, with that aforementionned temple, a traditionnal paper museum (Han-ji, not as boring as a paper museum would sound), traditionnal village, wine museum (fun!) and top it off with some of the best hand-cut noodles (Kal-Guk-Soo) around, free music concert, and there you have it, a great day!

[Grotto]

The one in Youngin is excellent....it is huge and worth spending an entire day at.

Min Sok Chon

[just because]

The one in Jeju is also worth a visit.....but i wouldn't stay there too long, to much to see on jeju

[skookum]

And of course, Hahoe Folk Village near Andong - it's got the straw rooves and all, like the other ones, but people actually live in this town....

This isn't quite the same thing, but if you ever get to Sunchang, the Kochujang minsok maeul is nearby - it's newly built but buildings are of old designs, and in each one they are making kochujang (red pepper paste that is used in so many Korean recipes).

[indytrucks]

Nagan Folk Village near Suncheon is the best I've been to in Korea. Very cool atmosphere.

[nev]

I strongly recommend visiting the Korean Folk Village at Yongin, near Suwon. Certainly for residents of Seoul, its so close and easy to get to that to miss it is only excusable if your ass has grown so fat and lazy that you physically can't wedge yourself from your chair.

To get there, simply take a subway or train to Suwon. For those unfamiliar with Seoul, simply arrive in Seoul by train and immediately transfer to the nearby subway, blue line 1. The subway to Suwon costs only about 2000W (I forget the exact fare) and takes an hour. The train is pretty packed usually though. Be careful which train you get on though, as you don't want to end up in Incheon (you can easily change if you're on the wrong train).

Upon arriving in Suwon, take the left hand exit to outside. I forget the exit number, sorry. You'll find yourself very near the tourist information office, and they speak excellent English. Here you can buy the tickets to the folk village - you can buy these at the village gate itself, alternatively - and you can take the free shuttle bus from the car park next to the office. The tickets cost 11000Won but you may want to buy the museum package for 14000Won. The museums are diverting, if unspectacular. Unless you're taking children, the 16000Won full package to include some kind of funfair isn't necessary.



The Folk Village isn't actually an authentic folk village but one specially created to show a variety of styles from different eras. Thus, it is specifically a tourist destination, as opposed to somewhere like Andong Folk Village. However, I didn't find it too gaudy or tacky, and nestled among trees with a river running through it, it was very peaceful and attractive. There are plenty of houses to see, ranging from common farmers' homes to those of nobility, and other bits and pieces too. If you're passionate about traditional farming techniques I'm sure you'll be in heaven. But even if antiquated agriculture isn't high on your interests list there's tons of other interestings bits and pieces to see.



In roughly the centre of the village is a small arena, and as scheduled times from about 3pm there are performances. I don't know the proper terms for these, but they involve people wearing white hitting drums, blowing pipes and dancing around like dervishes. It's entertaining to watch and I'm quite sure evocative of how Koreans used to live. Then you can watch some women bounce really very high on a seesaw, and a guy walk across a tightrope many, many times.



The ambience of the village is very pleasant and it is perfect to wander around randomly, enjoying the various sights. Because it is so spread out the tourists are likewise and there are lots of quite, isolated spots. There's certainly several hours of things to see and do.

The last free shuttle bus back to Suwon leaves at 5pm from outside the village, but you may want to check on that as I'm going from memory. It's an ideal day-trip as you can be back in Seoul for early evening.

[Captain Corea]

Great post Nev.

I've been there about 6 times and it's starting to loose its flair with me (probably cuz i've been there 6 freakin' times)

Anyways, i've brought any "visitor" to Korea there and they've had a great time. Highly recomended.

[just because]

Nagan(in Jeollanamdo) and Hahoe(in Gyeongbukdo) are both awesome folk villages as well....

The one at nagan is probably just slightly better due to the surroundings, the Hahoe one looks a bit barren....but they have the awesome mask festival.