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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