I went to Hahoe Village (하희마을/Hahoemaeul) again this weekend.  This will be my third post on it, and I would leave it alone except that I spent a lot of time in the Southern part of the village, which I hadn’t done much of before.

It really is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in Korea.  The best part of this trip is that I was almost completely alone (I went in the early evening at the beginning of Chuseok), except for the locals that live there.  No people… just complete silence and smoke coming out from the kitchen fires.  Also, the rice is just starting to turn into its beautiful gold color.

I miss Andong.

Here are the photos (you can see the full set here):

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And this is not part of Hahoe Village, but it is in Andong and I love it.  It is Wolyeong Bridge near the dam and folk museum.  I’d only seen it during the day, so it was surprising to see it lit up so beautifully.

Wolyeong Bridge -- 월영교

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The main reason we visited Hahoe Village this weekend was to see our friend Usher perform in a musical.

It was really, really great.  I didn’t understand the plot given that my Korean is pretty much limited to ordering food, ordering more food, and telling taxi drivers how to get me to said food.  But, it was without a doubt the most beautifully staged play I’ve ever seen.

Basically, the musical was performed on the bank of the Nakdong River with the stage extending out into the water.  However, they also utilized the opposing river bank and the huge rock cliff (for dropping fire onto the actors, writing hanja and hangul, and lighting it up as a backdrop)… it was gorgeous.

…a wonderful way to leave Andong.

My pictures in no way do justice to the show, but here they are.  You can view the full set here.

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Some friends and I went out to Hahoe Folk Village this weekend.  It’s so beautiful there, and I was happy I got to see it again before I left Andong.

Hahoe Village is a traditional Korean village from the Joseon era (1392-1897).  The homes, the rice, the river… it’s all rather wonderful.  And people actually live there; it’s not a “museum” as I thought it would be the first time I visited.  Here’s more on Wikipedia…

Also, Hahoe was just added (this week) as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I was a bit surprised it made the cut, but very excited as it is very unique experience.

I wish I could compare it to something in America, but I can’t due to white people’s insatiable need to have (or take) everything in sight.

You can view the full photo set here.

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Yesterday I visited Hahoemaeul Village (or Hahoe), 하회마을.

Hahoe Village was founded in the 16th Century during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and it is famous for maintaining the art and architecture from that period.

I half expected it to be like Colonial Williamsburg, but that was far from the case.  Apart from being a lot older, the village has never been invaded, so the houses are in their original structures.  And, unlike Williamsburg there aren’t any historical actors with fake accents pretending to churn butter… in fact, you really can’t go in to any of the houses because people still live there.  According to their website, 176 families live in Hahoe Village.

In addition to the village itself, there was also a performance of its famous mask dance. From what I know, masks are a big part of Korean culture, but the Hahoe mask dances are some of the most reknowned.

And it must be mentioned that this village was set in the most beautiful location.  The Hwachon Stream wraps around 3 sides of the village and mountains provide a backdrop nearly everywhere.

Of course, here’s a video and some photos.

UPDATE: WordPress is experiencing “issues” so the videos are not working right now

UPDATE: Videos working!

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