Korean Folk Village

unmarried daughter's living space

To celebrate the Lunar New Year (Seolnal) this past weekend, I went to the Korean Folk Village in Yong-in City, Gyeonggi-do. On New Year's Day, February 14th (this year). I traveled about 1 1/2 hrs on the subway to get to Suwon where I met my friend and together, we took the free shuttle from the station to the Folk Village. The ride there was another 30 min or so. Including the traveling and the size of the village, it is definitely a full day trip- but well worth it. Admission was 12,000w which includes three small performances and all the exploring of traditional housing a person could want. We timed it just right and after our lunch in the "food court," we were able to see all the performances. The Farmers' Music and Dance, Equestrian Feats, and Acrobatics on a Tightrope.

"In a natural environment of 243 acres, more than 260 traditional houses from the different regions and the living culture of the late Joseon Dynasty are revived lively. Just feel the ancestral intelligence and wisdom with the various traditional experiences." -Korean Folk Village pamphlet/map

The three-day weekend to celebrate the new year (the Year of the White Tiger) was wonderful. There are many customs in Korean culture, the favorite amongst my students is sebaeton (bowing to your elder relatives and receiving a verbal and financial blessing- money money money!) From what they've told me this week, the festivities included delicious traditional foods, like tteokguk, and traditional games, like yutnori. My traditional Korean meal to celebrate New Year's was sundubu. Unfortunately it was not sundubu jjigae which is a spicy version of tofu soup. Mine was tofu and hot water so I dumped a bunch of spices into it myself to liven things up a bit. It was a very cold day on Sunday, so the hot soup was just the ticket!