When those major Korean holidays draw near, foreigners tend to feel excluded from the festive atmosphere. As most Koreans leave the capital city to visit their families and tons of shops and restaurants close, what is there to be happy about, if there’s nothing to do? Those were my exact thoughts during last week’s Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival. After some research, I found out about Namsangol Hanok Village and decided to check it out.

Namsangol Hanok Village basically is a huge park including, as the name indicates, Hanok, traditional Korean houses, from the Joseon dynasty. During major holidays such as Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok, it becomes the place to be for foreigners and Koreans alike. Upon entering the village, people find themselves drawn into the holiday mood. There’s plenty to do at Namsangol: for reasonable prices, heaps of activities are offered, such as crafting your own mask or wearing Hanbok, traditional Korean clothes.

The best thing about Namsangol Hanok Village is that you can make your experience completely costless. The entry to the village itself is free and if you don’t mind not participating in major activities, you can still stroll around the park, sit next to a streamlet and relax or just have a look at the five Hanok, as well as current exhibitions in the village.

During Chuseok, they had traditional games set up for people to play. This one, for example, is called jegichagi (제기차기). One person has to kick the jegi (the thing that looks like a cheer pom) in the air without it falling on the ground. The player with the most consecutive kicks wins.

You could also try your best at beating the dough:

Other free activities include tossing your wish into the wishing well and watching traditional performances.

There’s even a time capsule, which was built in 1994 and is set to be opened in 2394!

After a long day at the park, you’ll probably be hungry. In that case, Namsangol’s got you covered with delicious Korean food:

All in all, Namsangol Hanok Village is definitely an option to look into, not just during holidays but on other days as well.

Directions

Take the subway to Chungmuro station (line 3 and 4) and take exit 3. As soon as you get out of the exit, turn right and head straight to the “Hollys Coffee” outlet, then turn left.

You should be able to see Namsangol Hanok Village’s entry, which looks like this:

 

Now you know where to spend your next holidays 😉

 

Till next time,

Julie