Hanok Village Guidance Panel, Copyright © Cooltourismical.com
Just a small list of things to know before you actually go visiting a traditional Korean community.
📌 Respect the Residents
Remember that many Hanoks are still private residences! Always respect their privacy, keep noise levels down, and avoid trespassing into private properties. Another piece of advice is to be mindful of photography. While it’s tempting to capture the beauty of the Korean traditional architecture or interior design, always be considerate. Avoid taking photos inside private homes, even if doors are open, unless given permission.
📌 Wear Comfortable Shoes
Hanok villages often have stone-paved paths. Wearing comfortable footwear will help you explore the area much easier. And longer.
📌 Spend a Night in a Hanok
Korean Homestay Garden, Copyright © Cooltourismical.com
Nothing offers a more immersive experience of the true essence of Hanok living than staying in a guesthouse or ‘Hanokstay’. It gives you an authentic feel of traditional Korean life, especially the unique experience of sleeping on an ondol-heated floor (if it’s winter outside, obviously!). There are some absolutely beautiful Hanok stays all over Korea. My favorite ones, below.
Bukchonmaru Guesthouse, Copyright © Cooltourismical.com
While in Seoul, I had a great 2-day stay at Bukchon Maru and I couldn’t recommend them more.
A sturdy stone wall and a beautifully crafted wooden door hide behind them a peaceful heaven with an interior garden and a staircase that leads to tiny traditional rooms grouped around a madang. Masks and painting decorate the space, sleeping is done on a traditional floor mattress, put directly on the ondol, and light comes in through paper blinds. Magical!
📌 Dress up like a historic Korean drama character
Koreans Wearing Hanbok, Copyright © Cooltourismical.com
📌 Visit during Festivals
Korea Folk Village Traditional Performance, Copyright © Dae Jeung Kim | PIXABAY
Hanok villages often host these lovely festivals where people decorate the place with lights and art sculptures, and dress up like in the Joseon period, dance, sing, and prepare tastiest local food specialites.
You can check out Jeongwol Daeboreum, The Great Full Moon Festival, honouring the first full moon at the beginning of the year, at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul or visit Jeonju Hanok Village during the Plum Blossom Festival in spring (guided tour).
If you plan to go to Jeonju in summer, in July, not far from Jeonju, Buyeo Seodong Lotus Flower Festival is taking place. You can see for yourself the legendary lotus flower, water nymph, blooming at dawn only.
Oeam village, a farming-oriented settlement, has its own themed festivals. Jangseungje and Daeboreum Ceremony, a custom since ancient times to pray for the well-being of the village and a good harvest. People are having fun by writing wishes on paper and hanging it on a jangseung (wooden totem pole), sharing fried puffed rice for the full moon, playing various folk games such as Jegichagi, roasting chestnuts, and raising kites into the sky.
In October, Straw Culture Festival takes place for 3 days, in the same village, to celebrate a Neo-Confucian scholar named Lee Gan who used ‘Oeam’ as his pen name. The whole festival is themed around re-enact moments of his life.
And the list can go on.
To be honest, I am always lucky enough to make friends in the most unexpected places. In Seoul, a Korean photographer, whom me and my husband met at Jongmyo Shrine, took us to eat together, introduced us to Korean pies and Mageoli, spoke to us about Korean life.
Korea has a very beautiful and fascinating heritage. Even so, sometimes, connecting to local people might be difficult. Most speak little English, they are more conservative and private. And it would certainly be a pity to miss out on the most interesting aspects about their culture. Speaking with a local ALWAYS enriches your experience.
In case you feel shy or don’t manage to easily connect with locals, there are plenty of amazing guided tours, that I already mentioned above for most of the villages.
📌 Buy from local artists or join their workshops
Inside Hanok Villages, you can find so many beautiful souvenirs to take back home. Buying a handmade craft means you’re bringing a bit of Korea’s art history back home with you. These items include pottery, cloth goods, jewelry, and traditional Korean paper (hanji) creations.
They carry with them centuries-old stories and skills handed down from one generation to the next. Buying these helps keep Korea’s unique culture alive and supports the artisans’ way of life.
For example, in Bukchon, there’s a little shop run by an elderly woman who sells her husband’s paintings: images of colorful streets, decorated with flowers, and curvy roofs of the hanoks, in which time seems to have stopped.
Source link
