This post focuses on only one sight, namely the Yandong Folk Village. A visit to this UNESCO Heritage listed village is a great option if you’re staying in Gyeongju for more than one day.
Yandong Folk Village
Yandong has been founded in the 14th-15th century. It’s UNESCO Heritage listed together with Hahoe village.
Sheltered by forested mountains and facing out onto rivers and open agricultural fields, the village is seen as the most representative historic, clan village in Korea.
Yandong was located to provide physical nourishment from its surrounding landscapes.
Inside you can find residences of the head families, together with timber framed houses of other clan members.
There are also clusters of one story mud-walled, thatched-roofed houses, formerly for commoners.
Getting There
According to my Lonely Planet, it’s not easy to get there. Luckily, that’s not true. At the time the Lonely Planet was written there was no bus stop in the village. Nowadays there is. From Gyeongju, you can get the 203 which stops right next to the entrance. It leaves the city every 1.5 hours and it takes half an hour to reach the village. My tip is to check the departure times when you arrive so that you can plan which bus you take back to the city.
It’s strange that you are required to pay an entrance fee, since it’s only just a village but that’s the way it is. At least you don’t have to pay a fee to enter any of the buildings. Talking about entering buildings, people still live here. Please respect their privacy. Not all buildings are open for viewing, so check if there is a sign out front which states its historical significance and you know you’re in the right place.
What to See
As with many UNESCO Heritage Sites, the main pleasure is in simply roaming around. When you reach the entrance of the park, you’ll notice it’s quite busy and people are pushing others out of the way to get inside the historical houses and to take selfies with it.
However, once you make your way to the top of the hill, you’ll find yourself in complete solitude. Apart from some of the local villagers of course.
Up there it’s slightly easier to get lost.
At the same time it’s somehow nice to get lost roaming around the village; and finding things not many tourists have found, since they stick to the lower part.
I visited four of the main historical buildings and after an hour of wandering around I called it a day and walked back to the bus stop.
Conclusion
Yandong Folk Village is a great place to visit for a few hours. Therefore, it’s perfect for people staying in Gyeongju for more than one day. There are many things to see here, which I haven’t seen anywhere else yet.
Beautiful timber houses…
… and beautiful tatched houses
Also it doesn’t get the busyness that sights normally would get closer to a city.
