We took 8am bus from Seoul to Andong. The reason why we made a short visit is because we wanted to see Hahoe Village, the most authentic korean traditional folk village in South Korea. Journey from Seoul to Andong took 3 hours, then we have to take another bus to city center. We send our stuff to our hotel first before taking another 40 mins bus trip to Hahoe Village. So in the end we only have one afternoon to check Hahoe Village and Andong. But trust me, its all worth it.
Being in UNESCO list under "Historic villages in Korea" category already enough to make us going there and check it our self. Well, we love anything involving UNESCO and World Heritage Site.
When we arrived we actually made a mistake for stopping one stop earlier. Fortunately, we haven't eat lunch and when we check with tourist information center, they told us there's no restaurant in the village. And again we are fortunate since the Mask Museum also at the first bus stop.
So, since we love Korean food and was so hungry, we went searching for a restaurant. Restaurant at this area already look exciting enough and we couldn't wait to see the village.
We checked this restaurant but didn't see anyone, further inspection inside we saw few occupied table with customers sitting on the floor. Then we've been greeted by the owner who took us to restaurant next door which look less appealing. She didn't speak any english and we didnt know whats happening. We end up eating here and since we are hungry and we still can eat on the floor, korean style, we don't complain.
Seafood Pajeon aka seafood pancake/omelette
Our Lunch Set
Rice pudding, courtesy of Mrs. Boss
Korean style dining
Andong specialty food is salted mackerel. We tried and it was delicious. This is also one of few places in Korea we ate where they serves a lot of Banchan (side dish) to accompany the main dish. Of cos we couldn't finish it all since Nico didn't like Kimchi which comes with different type of vege.
After lunch we went directly to Hahoe Mask Museum which is located at the entrance. It was small but interesting museum. They not only house masks from Hahoe and korea but also from all over the world.
If you don't feel like walking, you can take shuttle bus to go to Hahoe village just next to information center for free. We were dropped outside of the village and from there we have to walk around the village. My first impression was, its a very calm village, so very quite and definitely authentic.
As tourist prefer to stay in Seoul and it was weekdays, we are again blessed to enjoyed this village to the fullest. Besides us there's a small group of local people, 2 japanese women and 2 western guy roaming around the village.
This village is a reflection of social and cultural systems of the Joseon Dynasty with a distinguish different between houses for Scholar, Noblemen, servant and commoners.
View before u enter the village
Mud-walled House
Straw Roof
thatched-roofed house
We left after strolling around the village and hoping we have enough time to check Andong before everything closed. We bought Andong mask for 40000 won as souvenir. So peeps, if you are looking for authentic korean folk village, go to Hahoe. Its only 3 hours away from Seoul, not many tourist, salted mackerel is delicious and you definitely will feel like you are shooting your own k-drama.
Souvenir Shop in the village before exiting
Handmade Hahoe Mask
You can go here by ferry but we dont have time to check it
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