Horseback martial arts at Korean Folk Village

Minsok village (Korean Folk Village) is a living museum type of

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

in the city of

Yongin Yongin () is a city in the Seoul Capital Area, the largest in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population over 1 million, the city has developed rapidly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in the cou ...

, a satellite city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area in the province of

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It was first opened on October 3, 1974 (ground breaking in 1973 and completion in 1974). Korean Folk Village is a popular tourist destination for both Koreans and foreigners, located near South Korea's largest amusement park,

Everland Everland () is South Korea's largest theme park. Located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do, it receives 5.85 million visitors annually and was ranked nineteenth in the world for amusement park attendance in 2018. As of 2 ...

. Real houses from across the country were relocated and restored to create a replica of a village from the late Joseon period. Events such as celebrating seasonal changes and traditional performances are held in KFV. The village is set up in a natural environment occupying approximately 245 acres. Over 260 traditional houses reminiscent of the late Joseon Dynasty can be found there. The purpose of the Korean Folk Village is to display elements of traditional Korean life and culture. There are multiple sections to the park, including numerous replicas of traditional houses of the different social classes (

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasa ...

, landowner, ''

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...

'') from various regions.

History

The Korean Folk Village was the first

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

constructed in South Korea. Construction of the Korean Folk Village began as a way to preserve traditional Korean culture and customs, including traditional Korean architecture, food, and clothing in response to the rapid

westernisation Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the '' Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, eco ...

and

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

of Korea during the 1960s. The village's buildings have either been restored or relocated from other provinces around Korea.

Living culture experience

Inside the folk village, staff members dress up in distinctive costumes depicting several characters from the Joseon Dynasty such as Sato (the governors), Daejanggeum (a royal of the palace), Kumiho (legendary fox with nine tails), Geosang (business magnate), etc. There are typically four cultural performances available to watch: Nong-ak play, tightrope play, horseback martial art play, and a traditional wedding. These performances are played at each stage twice a day. Moreover, the folk village offers other cultural experiences including: *Ferry *Horseback riding *Natural dyeing experience *Traditional life experience *Family park performance *Main performance The village consists of Joseon period houses and workshops, where visitors can enjoy the architectural characteristics of the Joseon dynasty and experience traditional crafts. Traditional wedding ceremonies are also held here. Korean Folk Village flog experience

Location, access and facilities

The village is accessible by subway and bus: *

Gangnam Station Gangnam Station is a station located in both the greater Gangnam area Gangnam District and Seocho District of Seoul, South Korea, on the Seoul Subway Line 2. This station serves as a crucial transfer point between Line 2 and buses to all over Se ...

: 5001-1 (10th gate, red bus, fare: 2100 won), 1560. *

Suwon Station Suwon Station is a railway station in the city of Suwon, South Korea. The station was completely redeveloped in 2002 and 2003, and is now integrated with the Aekyung Shopping Mall (AK Plaza). This station serves Inter-city railway Gyeongbu Line ...

: v10-5, v37, Korean Folk village shuttle bus (using a travel bureau at Suwon station). * Sanggal Station: 30, 54, 10-5, 37 (Get off for Nagok Village). *Miguem Station: 30, (shuttle bus) There is a free shuttle bus that runs between Korean Folk Village and Suwon station. Round trip takes about 30 minutes. There is a ticket fee needed for admission into the Korean Folk Village.

Facilities

The facilities in the park cater towards the visitor's needs; entertainment, service and food. They consist of a traditional street market, restaurants, and showcases of traditional woodworking and metalworking techniques. Also, traditional dances, equestrian skills, and marriage ceremonies are performed at different locations around the park. Several arts and crafts shops with food produced by local artisans, recreational activities, and an ample selection of places to eat can be found as well. The

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

section has rides and games, an art museum, a sculpture garden, a Korean Folk Museum, and a World Folk Museum which highlights traditional lifestyles from around the world. The village was used as a filming location for Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) 2012 drama ''

Moon Embracing the Sun ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (, also known as ''The Moon that Embraces the Sun'' or ''The Sun and the Moon'') is a 2012 South Korean television drama series, starring Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo, and Kim Min-seo. It aired on MBC from ...

'' as local markets, private residences of commoners, and night scenes. There are various exhibition halls that provide a broadened view of the folk culture: * Nine world folk exhibition hall (860 cultural artefacts). * One earth ware exhibition hall (3,000 or so cultural artefacts). * One masked dance exhibition hall (30 cultural artefacts).

Food and Shopping

Snack bars can be found in the food market, also known as ''Jumak'', where visitors can enjoy various types of Korean food. These include sweet ice-cream, Winibini candy (also known as Weeny Beeny), Railroad hotdog and Imsil cheese pizza. There are also a variety of traditional tea houses and play village restaurants which visitors can experience. Such as the Herbal medicine shop, Traditional tea house, Railroad and Minsok Banjeom, Eight folk village shops and Souvenir and ateliers.

Attraction

Several attraction sites of the village include bumper cars, Music express, Biking, Family Costa, Boat ride, Bounce spin, and Sled slope in winter.

Festival

Welcome to Joseon

The cultural theme park of Korean Folk Village hosts the “Welcome to Joseon” Variety Festival each spring. An exotic program that is presented by distinctive Joseon-period characters who appear in ancient fairy tales and stories. During the festival, visitors are encouraged to directly engage with the cultural performances, allowing them to travel back in time and experience a daily life in the Joseon period.

Gallery

File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-01.jpg File:HousesKoreanFolkVillage.jpg, Traditional houses File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-07.jpg File:HorsemanshipKoreanFolkVillage.jpg, Equestrian skills displayed File:TightropewalkerKoreanFolkVillage.jpg, A tightrope walker File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-15.jpg File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-04.jpg File:TraditionalfarmergarbKoreanFolkVillage.jpg, A farmer File:ScarecrowKoreanFolkVillage.jpg, Korean scarecrow File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-10.jpg File:Korean.Folk.Village-Minsokchon-08.jpg File:Korean.Folk.Village.Misokchon-14.jpg File:Making silk from cocoon at Korean Folk Village.jpg File:Korean Folk Village.jpg

References

External links

Korean Folk Village (Official web site)(Korean Folk Village Blog-Korean)(Twitter)(Facebook)
{{Coord missing, South Korea Yongin Museums in Gyeonggi Province Tourist attractions in Gyeonggi Province Folk villages in South Korea Folk museums in South Korea Open-air museums in South Korea Agriculture museums in South Korea Korean traditions