Kenneth E. Harker
2008 Korea - Koread Folk Village

We spent a morning at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggido, about 50 km (30 miles) south-southeast of downtown Seoul. The Korean Folk Village was one of the more expensive tourist attractions we visited, with a ticket price of ₩12,000. The Korean Folk Village has been used as a set for popular Korean television historical dramas. We visited with Hong Seungsup HL2SSH, a Director of the Korean Amateur Radio League, Chen Ping BA1HAM, former president of the Chinese Radio Sports Association, and Mr. Chen's wife. As we were there on a weekday morning, there were no crowds.

These photos are copyright © 2008 Kenneth E. Harker. All rights reserved.

	This inscribed boulder was near the entrance into the park, and presumably was dedicated when the park opened in 1974.
	The section of the park closest to the entrance gate was marked "Facilities Zone" on our map, and was entirely souvenir shops and restaurants. This souvenir shop had a table outside the store displaying jars of kimchi, the national dish of fermented cabbage and chili peppers. Inside the shop were other food items like ginseng and candies.
	Jangseung, or spirit sticks, beside the gate into the main park area. In Korean religious tradition, jangseung were placed at the outskirts of a village to both demarcate the village boundary and to scare away demons. The jangseung were worshipped as minor gods.
	A cow laying down in a pen. This barn was part of a household that was supposed to be representative of traditional farm buildings in northern Korea.
	The inside of one of the farmer's houses. Unlike the Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul, which focused on urban houses, the Korean Folk Village had a lot of rural village houses, representing the lifestyles of the farmers and peasants.
	Some chili peppers. The chili is a plant native to the Americas, and was first introduced to Korea in the early 17th century, shortly after Portuguese traders brought the chili pepper to Nagasaki for trade with the Japanese. The Japanese did not really appreciate it, but the Koreans have embraced the chili wholeheartedly.
	Ginger plants under cultivation. Ginger has been a part of the Korean diet for centuries. North Korea grows more ginger than South Korea, and is one of the top ten ginger producing nations in the world.
	Chen Ping BA1HAM, posing in front of one of the farmer's houses.
	Jen, enjoying the park. Unlike a lot of the palaces and other cultural attractions in Seoul, it was relatively uncrowded and peaceful with lots of shade trees.
	Ken and Jen.
	A field of soybeans, an important source of protein in the Korean diet.
	Cultivated ginseng. The ginseng plant takes years to reach a size suitable for harvesting. Ginseng is prized by the Koreans for its ability to stimulate the libido and generally improve overall health. North Korean red ginseng is supposedly the highest quality ginseng available worldwide.
	A silk weaving workshop. Despite efforts of the Chinese royalty to keep silk production a state secret, sericulture had reached Korea by about 200 B.C.
	Silk in various stages of production. In the left side of the box are the raw cocoons produced by the silkworms, and in the right side of the box is silk thread ready for dyeing and weaving.
	A garden plot with a variety of row crops. There are two examples of traditional Korean scarecrows, one made to look like a farmer, and the other made to look like an owl.
	A plot of buckwheat. Buckwheat is more common in Japanese cuisine than in Korean cuisine, but both cultures use it to make noodles.
	The Korean Folk Village has actors protraying a traditional Korean wedding ceremony every day. Here the groom and bride face one another. The bride is dressed in red, the traditional color for wedding dresses in both Korea and China.
	The bride and her bridesmaids.
	Prostrating before one another. The table between the bride and groom is filled with delicacies.
	The groom, wearing traditional hanbok clothing with a ceremonial hat appropriate to the wedding ceremony.
	The groom, riding a horse after the ceremony. The groom rides in front of the bride's gama, or sedan chair, which is carried by four men.
	The bride rides in a gama, while her bridesmaids walk beside her.
	The followers behind the gama bear the gifts and other items that the bride brings with her to the new household.
	A pavilion that overlooks the stream at the park. The pavilion is decorated in dancheong, the blue-green and cinnabar decorative painting style commonly used on formal buildings in the Joseon Dynasty.
	Streamers hung in a tree to carry prayers and wishes to the heavens.
	Two artisans making paper, one sheet at a time.
	A waterfall in the stream that flows through the park.
	A water wheel on the side of a mill building.
	The inside of a barn that was supposed to be representative of those found in Jejudo, an island province off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula.
	A house in the style of traditional houses in Jejudo.
	A traditional style of wooden footbridge over the stream.
	This was a water mill. Water is diverted from the stream using open bamboo pipes, where it falls into the open basin at the end of this long log. When the basin fills with enough water, it tips the log down and the water drains.
	As the log pivots up and down, it repeatedly pounds a small area where grain would be placed for grinding.
	A game where the objective is to throw the sticks into the jar. Supposedly, this was a game favored by women - men would prefer archery instead.
	One of the buildings at Chunghyeon Seowon, a Confucian studies institute inside the park.
	A metalsmith is tempering knives in a furnace.
	This building displayed several farm implements made out of wood.
	The "I Love You" sign with a mushroom cap was at the entrance to the Family Park, which included a small children's museum, an art museum, and an amusement park, all of which required additional tickets.