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The Kimchi-ite: The Korean Folk Village, A Perfect Escape From The City
Seoul and South Korea as a whole are undoubtably modern. But less than a century ago, much of what makes the country so modern today did not exist and people lived much more simply. Farming was by far the most common occupation and people lived in villages, not cities.
Having not left the city limits in months, it's hard for me to comprehend a world without LTE service and Wi-Fi in the subway. I decided to escape from Seoul, with its omnipotent television screens beaming down on most intersections, to a more traditional location. The Yongin Korean Folk Village was the perfect choice for a quick escape from the city.
A period reenactor making "ppeong twigi," puffed rice, a traditional Korean street food. "Ppeong" represents the sound of the contraption when making the snack; watch this video to hear for yourself.
Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, just an hour south of the city, it is very easily accessible from the center of Seoul. There are numerous folk villages all over Korea but this is one of the most popular and most fully realized.
A rock at the entrance of the village onto which people tie their messages and wishes, a common sight in ancient Korea.
The folk village is a fantastic look into historic Korea, with houses, food, scheduled musical performances and traditional ceremonies, all representing the different eras in Korean history.
A parade of dancing drummers commemorating the coming harvest. Further proof that Korean history has the best headgear.
The townsfolk staff walk around in period clothing and farm animals are on hand to show subsistence farming of the day. It's a surprisingly large place; walking the perimeter of the village can take about an hour.
A Choga-jib, thatched roof house, representative of peasant houses in southern, warmer regions.
Being able to walk around the different styles of houses is immensely interesting. Different layouts and designs are used for different regions and classes of people. You can even play with some of the farm equipment used to make food such as rice cakes.
A traditionally themed 7-Eleven near the entrance of the Korean Folk Village acts as a suggestion not to take your trip inside too seriously.
It does have a bit of a tourist trap feel; the 7-11 with a traditional, Korean-tiled roof is one of the glaring examples – even though it is by far my favorite convenience store on the peninsula. In many ways a trip to the Korean Folk Village is a trip to a theme park trying to pass as a museum. But it's a much better way to see Korean history than looking at miniatures and artists' renditions, as you would do in a museum.
All smiles during a harvest ceremony in the Korean Folk Village.
The best way to get to the Yongin Korean Folk Village is to take Seoul Subway Line 1 to Suwon Station. Then, take exit 5 and once outside of the station you will find a tourist information office. There, you can get a ticket for a free shuttle bus that will take you directly to the Korean Folk Village. The staff is multi-lingual and can guide you to the bus stop in English, Korean, Chinese or Japanese.
Go back into "The Kimchi-ite" archives here for more on Korean culture, food and oddities.
[All photos by Jonathan Kramer]
Filed under: Asia, South Korea
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jackson.martha5 Mar 6th 2013 4:19PM
When I visited last April they also had an equestrian performance as well as the farm dance performance. Really enjoyed the experience.