A Korean Folk Village: In Photos.

There’s more than one Folk Village in Korea, but they don’t always have obviously different names, so it can be a little confusing when looking online. The one we’ve been to a couple of times is about 12 miles from Suwon in Gyeonggi-Do province. It is the nearest to Seoul and you can get to it relatively easily as a day trip.

We’ve been there both in early Spring and in the Fall. The Fall visit was probably my favorite, but there’s lots to see and do in all the seasons.

Folk Villages are somewhat of a cross between an open air museum and a tourist attraction, but they do give you a look at what Korea was like a few hundreds years ago. They focus on Korean rural life which has often remained the same for generations.

The houses and buildings may look alike, but once you look closely you can spot the regional and class differences.

For example the ones from Jeju Island use the local volcanic rock.

Along with a large selection of regional buildings to explore there are also artisans showing traditional arts. This gentleman was making baskets and shoes.

Blacksmiths are popular all over the world. This smith was making traditional tools which were then displayed for sale. On both visits we’ve bought his Korean hoes for gardening. They are our favorite gardening tool.

The herbalist area has a little cafe where you can get a variety of medicinal drinks as well as regular tea and coffee. You can sit inside or outside in a very quiet and relaxing area.

There is also at least one play area, probably more, but since I don’t have a small child I wasn’t really looking. Notice the big swings for Geune Ttwigi, although here they are downsized for children.

Various shows are put on at specific times and they are very much worth watching.

The equestrian show is pretty amazing too.

As you can imagine from all our exploring we needed to find somewhere to eat, and there are quite a few options. The main gate area has a selection of restaurants and places to eat and then way in the back there’s a ‘food court’ which has cheaper options. We’ve eaten at both and not been disappointed.

Now that you’ve looked through the photos I’ll show you one of the main entrance when we arrived. Don’t be worried if it looks like this. The Folk Village covers a large area with over 200 buildings so it is fairly easy to avoid the crowds once everyone spreads out.

Have a great day everyone.

You may also enjoy reading Korean Games,  Hanji: The Paper Of Korea,  and Hwaseong Fortress.

Please do not copy or use without permission and accreditation. All photo credits to Elizabeth and Debora Marzec.