한국민속촌 // Korean Folk Village

 

Yesterday I ventured out of Daejeon to a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time.

한국민속촌 is located in Yongin, a little outside of Seoul. From Daejeon it took me about an hour and 45 minutes to arrive at 신갈 station on bus bound for 수원. And from there another roughly 25 minutes on a city bus to the entrance of the Folk Village. I wouldn’t say that it’s exactly an easy place to get to, and for people who aren’t very familiar with Korea’s transportation system it could definitely be confusing. I wasn’t even 100% the bus was going exactly where I wanted it to while I was on it. But it ended up working out fine.

We arrived at around 11 and at that point the crowds still weren’t too bad. So if I go back again I’m definitely going to make a point of getting there even earlier.

 

 

 

 

At the entrance there are lots of little shops, some with gifts and some with food, but eventually it splits off into the other areas of the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was really impressed with the condition everything was in, especially considering how many visitors the place gets daily. And it’s set up well to give you a good overview of the different types of houses and structures that used to exist around Korea.

But what I loved the most was that everything is kind of in a forest. I’ve seen lots of 한옥 houses before, but seeing them nestled among the trees against the intense green of leaves that have just reappeared for the summer was stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After walking for a bit we stopped to watch a performance. We were too late to get a good seat but it was fun anyway.

 

 

 

 

After the performance we went over to the “market” area to get lunch. I had 비빔밥 which was actually surprisingly good and we sat on the floor in a little open room off the main area.

 

 

 

Once we’d eaten we headed across the little river to see the other side of the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a small museum with lots of interesting photos and replicas.

 

 

 

 

One of the last places we stopped by was a courtyard covered in flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

We left around 5:00 completely exhausted but very satisfied. If you are looking for something to do with family or friends visiting Korea I highly recommend 한국민속촌! Getting there from Seoul is also a lot easier than from Daejeon so don’t let that put you off too much.

And even though we are getting into the dead of summer now, the shade from the trees kept the temperature manageable.

Let me know if you’ve been here or have plans to go in the future!

Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!