Be transported to the Joseon dynasty, and get more than a glimpse of how the people back then used to live. Walk through their village streets, peer into their houses, touch their day-to-day tools and implements. And no, you’re not sitting in front of your computer watching a sageuk drama with costumed actors. You’re at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin City.
I was looking for day trips outside central Seoul, and this one came up on one of my searches. Choosing between Bukchon and this one, I decided to pick this even if it is much farther.
The Korean Folk Village (KFV) is a “living museum” type of park that showcases Korean culture, particularly clothing, architecture, food and village life, in the past, most notably the Joseon dynasty. All 240+ acres of it was rebuilt to recreate one of the most notable times in the country’s history, and it was so vast that the 4.5 hours that we allotted for the place was not enough.
Despite our best efforts, we ended up leaving our guesthouse (Namsan Guesthouse) at past 8 in the morning. That meant we arrived at Suwon Station at 9:30 am already and it took a while before the bus that will take us to the KFV came around.
By the time we arrived at the Village, it was already 10:45. *sobs*
But we hit the ground running (or walking fast). We purchased the tickets, which were priced at KRW 15,000, but we had our Korea Grand Sale coupons, which entitled us to a 50% discount, so we paid only KRW 7,500!
Armed with the map/guide to the KFV, we went right in. Right past the gates was a generally commercialized area called the Market Village, with souvenir shops and small cafes and restos. There were even outlets for cosmetics brands such as Innisfree, Missha and The Face Shop.
Further on, we came around to the entrance to the main areas of the actual Folk Village. This is called the Inner Three-Passage Gate, because, well, as you can see, the gate was divided into three entrances.
One of the first spots we passed by upon entering was one of the shooting spots for the wildly popular Korean sageuk, Dae Janggeum (or Jewel in the Palace). But I am going to devote an entirely separate entry for that. *wink wink*
This is the “Dutiful Son’s Monument”. Check out the outer gate, which is made of stone. It is called hyojamun. This is supposedly to commemorate the “remarkable acts of filial piety”.
The outer areas of the village was noticeably for people who are in the lower rungs of society at the time: farmers, animal-raisers, potters. There was an actual stable right there, too, with this.. err, very quiet, cow.
Right beside it, is a Mill Stone.
This type of mill stone was one of the most popular mills at the time. And it was used for hulling or pounding grains. How does it work, you ask? It is pulled by livestock. Maybe by the cow on the structure next to it.
And we come next to the farmers’ houses.
This one is the Farmer’s House in the Southern Part. It is described as a “middle class farmer’s house which has spacious rooms and wooden floors. The inner and outer wings are all in a straight line and run parallel to each other.” Apparently, this parallelism in the structure is typical of farmers’ houses in the Southern part.
Across the road is the Peasant’s House in the Southern Part. In contrast to the Farmer’s House, it has no outer wing. Typical of Southern part houses, however, it has an open plan, and even has verandas.
In my opinion, it still looks quite lavish to be a peasant’s house. But then again, I suppose the definition of poverty then and now are worlds apart.
While walking, you are likely to come across folks wearing hanbok and traditional garb from back then. They are staff of the Village, like these two who we spotted carrying some trash away.
We came to the Local Government Office. It looks so huge and imposing. This is where affairs of the village are tackled, and where trials are conducted and judgments passed. If you’ve seen some sageuks in the past, then this is where those punishments and tortures are inflicted in public.
They actually even hold a special “show” here, called the Implementation of Punishments Experience. I think visitors can experience how it would feel like to be lashed or beaten by costumed guards. LOL.
We didn’t linger long, though, because we wanted to get to the Nobleman’s House quickly, in time for the Traditional Wedding Ceremony. (I will talk about that in a separate post.)
The Nobleman’s House is more like an entire compound that is almost as wide (if not wider) than that of the Local Government Building. After the Traditional Wedding Ceremony, we decided to walk around inside the House, just to see how the filthy-rich back then lived.
I think one sign of wealth back then was the number of servants you have in your household. The outer wing of the Nobleman’s House was the Outer Servants’ and Guests’ Wing. These were the quarters of the households menservants so, aside from rooms for them to live in, there are also barns, stables and storage rooms.
There were also drawing rooms where visitors can sleep in. There were bedrolls neatly stacked on the mostly spartan rooms.
Just a note: the Traditional Wedding Ceremony was performed at the Outer Servants’ and Guests Wing.
We then moved further inside, to the Inner Servants’ and Guests’ Wing. This contains the dwelling spaces of the grandparents and children, as well as for the female servants of the household, such as the maidservants, needlewomen, female cooks and female nurses.
This wing also had its fair share of storerooms and barns. Take, for example, the set of pictures below.
These are four rooms that are situated side by side. In the first room are all these tools and implements for harvesting rice. In the second room, is where the harvested rice are placed before they are stacked or bundled properly. When they have been bundled, they are transferred to the third room.
Then, I am presuming they will be delivered to the mill for milling. Once the milled rice is returned to the House, it is then stored in the Rice Box on the fourth pic.
The rooms for sleeping are just a liiiiiiiittle bit more spacious than the ones on the Outer Wing, and they are just as minimalist.
Of course, there are the jars where the spices, condiments, sauces and other kitchen cooking “secrets” are fermented and kept.
You are now looking at the Inner Wing of the Nobleman’s House. This is mainly for the housewife and the children of the Nobleman. It is also where social activities are conducted, such as receiving visitors and guests, leisure time, and even schooling or educating the children.
Let us take a peek inside, shall we? The main room, the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the room where the children are taught.
The Inner Wing was designed in such a way that the back passages are linked directly to the Drawing Wing, which is the domain of the Master of the household, the Nobleman himself.
This is the Drawing Wing, which is right behind the Inner Wing. It is where the daily activities of the Master are conducted. It is also used for the education of his children. It is quite large, as well, since it has its own Main Room, several Guest Rooms, a Book Depository, and separate dwelling rooms for menservants of higher rank.
But that is not where the domain of the Master ends, because in a separate area, close to the Drawing Wing, is the Outer Annex. This was a special place for the gentlemen, for their social activities with guests. I’ll give you two guesses what those activities cover, and who with. *clears throat* ohdearhaveIbeenwatchingtoomanysageuks?
I got one thing to say, though: the few minutes I spent on the gazebo, stretching my tired legs, was veeeeery comfy. 🙂
When you see what’s inside the Outer Annex, you’d probably understand why this is a place for the gentlemen to do their thing.
See? SEE?
I will end this post with one of the more tranquil scenes we saw at the Nobleman’s House. I will continue relating my Korean Folk Village experience in the next posts.
Notes and tips:
- If you’re going to KFV from Seoul, try to go there earlier, in time for its 9:30am opening.
- There are several ways to get to KFV, but what we did was take the subway and got off at Suwon Station, and boarded Bus No. 37, which took us directly to KFV. From Myeongdong to Suwon Station, it takes one hour and 11 minutes. We had to wait for the bus a bit, and the bus ride from the Suwon Station bus stop to KFV also took close to one hour. From Seoul, around the Myeongdong area, you can estimate travel time of 1hr 45 minutes to 2hrs. See why I said you should start early?
- If you could, try to go there on a weekday. Weekends tend to be very crowded.
- Again, wear good footwear. You’d be treading on concrete, dirt-packed streets, uneven foot paths and rocky stepping stone. You want to at least remain comfortable the whole time.
And finally, because I have a thing for reflections on water.
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