Our visit to the traditional cultural theme park Korean Folk Village is far from over, my friends, because there’s still a lot to talk about. Even if I end this post with us leaving the Village, I have a couple or so more posts dedicated on stuff we did in this place.
After the series of performances held at the Performance Area (which was located in front of the Local Government Office, people dispersed, with others continuing their tour of the Village and some others already leaving. Lorie and I still had about less than an hour before we planned to leave, so we decided to re-cross the river and check out what’s on the other side.
From the Performance Area, we passed by the Playground (mainly for kids and tots) and came to the Stepping Stones.
This traditional stepping stones setup is actually a bridge, with water running through cracks and crevices between the stones. There was a sign saying that the “elderly and the weak” are not allowed to cross, and young kids too, unless they are accompanied by parents. This is supposedly because in some parts, the depth is around almost 4.5 feet.
I think we spent more than a few minutes waiting for people to cross the stepping stones so we can take pictures without them, haha!
it was not as precarious as one would think, though, although there were some loose stones, or stones that wobbled when weight is out on them, so you still have to watch your steps. I think it was also a factor that the current of the water in the river was not so strong during the summer. I bet it’d be a different story when it’s strong.
And that over there is the Wooden Bridge that we crossed earlier.
Once you reach the other side, you will arrive at the Scholar’s House. It does look…. scholarly. Too bad it was closed, though. It would’ve been interesting to see what it was like inside.
The Scholar’s House is only one of the almost 270 traditional Korean houses in the Korean Folk Village, and each of these houses, according to the leaflet, were relocated from the different regions of South Korea. I would have thought they were built onsite, but no, that didn’t seem to be the case.
It’d be interesting to learn how such a huge structure (even the Nobleman’s Mansion) was “relocated”, though.
Beside the Scholar’s House is the Swing Place, although I wonder why it would be there. Maybe because scholars need to play, too, lest they be called dull?
Swing Place has, obviously, swings. But they’re not your usual swing sets that you see in children’s parks and playgrounds, though. They are huge, look so robust and sturdy, and it’ll take quite the effort to get going. 🙂
Of course, we didn’t pass up the opportunity. I want one of these in my front yard… but I’m afraid it’s much too big~
At the Korean Folk Village, they are also huge in letting their guests have full experience, so you can also try out some of their traditional folk games.
Like yut, for example. I’ve only seen these played in some dramas and variety shows, and I really don’t get how it is played, even when repeatedly reading what was written on the board. 🙂 Maybe I need to watch an actual game in person before I can understand it.
And there was also this stick-throwing game (or were they arrows? I think they were sticks). This one was easy to understand, I guess, because all you have to do is throw the sticks from a distance, and make sure it makes it into the narrow-mouthed clay jar.
This gate leads to the Chunghyun Seowon, or the Confucian Institute. (Strategically placed close to the Scholar’s House, I see. Geez, are they allowed to have fun??? And no, the Swing Place between these two buildings does not count!)
The Chunghyun Seowon is a private educational institute during the Joseon dynasty.
Beside this is the Legendary Hometown (Ghost House) area of the Village, where a ghost town is portrayed. Also beside that is the entrance to the Amusement Park of the Village (yes, they have an amusement park).
We passed on both.
To go back to the main hub of the Village, we crossed back through this traditional Stone Bridge… that has no guard rail. 🙂 So they put a makeshift rope instead.
Oh, there is also a Ferryboat Experience, where guests can pay a fee so that a boat man will give them a ride on the “ferry” (more like a raft, really. I’ve seen it used on too many farewell and separation scenes in sageuk dramas, haha! Some of them were followed by the raft exploding, by the way.).
We didn’t see anyone taking it, though. Probably because it was too hot to be out in the middle of the water.
While we were taking photos at the bridge, peering down into the water. An ahjussi who is a staff of the park came by and purposefully scattered fish food right into the water in front of us. The school just flocked. 🙂
Some of the experiences you can also try out include pottery, traditional dye-making, straw rice bag-making, and various crafts. You can mostly find them at the Workshop Street. Some parts of the Workshop Street was closed off for restoration/renovation, so that explains why we didn’t spot the Brassware Workshop (which intrigued me when I read it on the map) and the traditional furniture workshop, where visitors can learn how to make those traditional fans.
We passed by the Blacksmith’s Workshop.
And this is the Showroom for Farming Tools.
I saw this millstone being used to grind coffee beans and soya beans before. 🙂 It looks like a lot of work, but the result was WOW. And hell on the arms, too, if you have to do it for prolonged periods.
Do you know what the picture below is?
It is called the ojum changgun, and “ojum” means “urine”.
So, yes, it is a urine carrier or holder. 🙂
According to the description, the ojum changgun comes in two shapes or styles.
If you look closely, the one above is not a single ojum changgun. There are actually two.
The first one on the left is the wooden version, shaped like a cylinder, and a protruded opening in the middle. The one on the right is the earthenware version, and it is shaped like a jar. It has a bugle-like neck, and that is where the opening is.
(In my country, I think our version is the arinola. haha! Which is basically just any bowl or wide-mouthed canister or plastic container, with a handle and (hopefully) a cover or lid.)
The one below is the Joseon version of the modern spade, and it is called salpo. It is often used to close or open the “sluice gate” of rice paddies.
But there is another reason for the long handle because, supposedly, it can be used as a cane by the man in charge of the irrigation work, since it gives him an “air of authority”.
….can’t it be because he’s just tired and would like to lean on it for a while. Oh, well, different strokes for different folks.
After rounding the bend from the Workshop Street, we arrived back at the Inner Three-Passage Gate. We didn’t want to leave yet, but we wanted to cover as much ground as we can, and we were already an hour behind our original plan, which is to head to Hwaseong.
So, with wistful hearts, we said annyeong to the Korean Folk Village.
Devote an entire day (if you could) to the Korean Folk Village. Be there when it opens, and you can stay until it closes, because we heard there are a lot of activities still. We really did not have the luxury of time, and it was partly our fault that we were not there earlier.
If we had one day to devote to the Korean Folk Village, we’d probably have tried some of the Crafts workshop experiences. It would have been nice to go home with a pair of straw sandals or a fan that I made. I was also interested in trying out the experience of “Government Office Implementation of Punishment”, although undergoing torture might be going too far, haha!
There was also the Korean Folk Museum, which may have been interesting but, as I mentioned in an earlier post, indoor museums did not really figure into our planning when we were drawing up our itinerary.
If I can go there again, I so will. 🙂
How to get to Korean Folk Village:
Ideally it should take you 30 minutes if you’re coming from Seoul, and you have your own private mode of transport.
Public Transportation:
Korean Folk Village (Nah-gok Village) (ending up at the parking area of KFV)
- From Gangnam Station, Sang-gal Station, take Bus 5001-1
- From Suwon Station, take Bus 37 (this is what we took) or 10-5
- From Jukjeon Station in Suji, take Bus 30
Folk Village 3-Way Intersection (SamJeong Apartment Complex) (1.2 km away from KFV)
- From Gangnam Station, take Bus 1560
- From Jongro, take Bus 5500-1
Folk Village Shuttle Bus
Sang-gal Station (Bundang Line) –> KFV (only 5 minutes walk to arrive at the Village)
Suwon Station (Bundang Line) –> KFV (around 40 minutes before arriving at the Village)
For shuttle bus info, call +82 31 288 0000. Reservations must be made if you’re in a group.
Leave a Reply