I once said that South Korea is a country that really rich of their cultural heritage. One of the historical heritages that still can be found there is hanok village. On my other post, I wrote about Bukchon Hanok Village. Other than Bukchon, there is another hanok village at Seoul which you should visit. It is called Namsangol Hanok Village known as a village with traditional houses at Namsan Valley. 

(KOREA VACAY : EXPERIENCING HANBOK IN SEOUL)

In the past, Namsangol used to be an area that famous for its beautiful scenery and became one of the prettiest areas in Seoul. Namsangol used as a summer resort named Jeonghakdong. Different from Bukchon Hanok Village, Namsangol was designed so that tourists could feel the Joseon Dynasty atmosphere. Now, it is a public historical site and many people are interested to come. They made some traditional houses, flowing stream and pavilion to liven the classic atmosphere of Joseon Dynasty. 

Namsangol Hanok Village located in the central of Seoul, close to Namsan Tower area. For the detail address, it is 28, Toegye-ro 34-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. There are two public transportations that you could use to visit this place, subway and public bus. The nearest subway station from Namsangol Hanok Village is Chungmuro Station. Some of the public buses also stop at Namsangol area. I will give the detail information about it later. For me personally as international tourist, I prefer subway. It neat, the routes are clear and easy to understand than public bus’ routes. 

Namsangol Hanok Village has a very wide area. When you enter this area, you will see a pond and a large field next to it. The open field used for a variety of performances such as traditional dance or music of South Korea. I was fortunate during my visit to Namsangol Hanok Village. There was a traditional dance performance that day and it was a really interesting experience to watch it. 

On the other side of Namsangol Hanok Village, there are five traditional houses. Each of them will give you the atmosphere of Joseon. The house is filled and designed in such a way to resemble the antiquity of Joseon Dynasty’s house. They really made the kitchen and bedroom similar to the one on the past. There is one more area called Bak Yeong Ho’s Residence where the venue can be used for traditional Korean wedding ceremony. Yet I was lucky again because on that day there was a traditional Korean wedding ceremony ongoing.

Many people come to Namsangol Hanok Village for an afternoon walk. The beautiful scenery and fresh air will relax your mind. I also saw some photographer or videographer who’s taking some moments there. Other than that, there are some free activities that you could do here such as making mini Korean totem pole, wooden birds, wooden chips, and straw-craft. 

This hanok village opens every day except Tuesday. For April until October, Namsangol Hanok Village opens from 9 am – 9 pm. However, for November until March, it opens from 9 am – 8 pm. You also don’t have to pay for admission ticket; it is free to explore Namsangol Hanok Village. 

For those who interested with historical buildings and South Korea’s cultural heritage, you should visit Namsangol Hanok Village. It has a calm and peaceful atmosphere; it will make you wonder how life went in the past. I also fascinated with the traditional dance performance. What fascinated me was youngsters in Korea really love and proud of their culture. I guess the one who performed was a group of college student. They looked so proud for successfully performing their country’s cultural dance. So yeah, I think there are no reasons to not visit Namsangol Hanok Village. 

How to get there :

1. Subway

Nearest Station : Chungmuro Station, exit 3 or 4

2. Bus

- Take Bus No. 104, 105, 140, 263, 507, 604, 421, or 7011 and get off at Toegyero 3(sam)-ga (National Pension Service) Bus Stop.

- Take Bus No. 263, 104, 507, 421, 02 or Seoul City Tour bus and get off in front of at Twegye 3(sam)-ga (Hanok Maeul, Korea House) Bus Stop.

South Korea is one of the countries that rich of its cultural heritage. The most popular historical icon in Seoul is Gyeongbokgung Palace. Besides royal palace, there are some Hanok Villages that spreads through the town. Bukchon Hanok Village is one of them. To get some unique experience, try visiting those two places by wearing a Hanbok (Traditional Korea Dress). You can find Hanbok rental place easily around Seoul especially near the historical sites. I will give you my recommendation of Hanbok Rental in the next post (Next week).

That day, we were going to Gyeongbokgung Palace and around there. Oh, we also had to rent hanbok. The night before, we already researched about Hanbok Rental. From Google, it said that Gyeongbokgung Palace had a hanbok rental facility for tourists. We went by subway and took off at Gyeongbokgung Station that located inside the palace area. After met with eonni (new friend!), we searched the place that rent some hanbok. However it turned out to be a rental for only royal guard outfit. And finally, we ask other tourists that already wore a hanbok HAHA. They said we need to go to Chungmuro Station. There is one Hanbok Rental place called “One Day Hanbok”. We also searched it on the internet first before we went there.

There are about 4 stations away to Chungmuro Station from Gyeongbokgung Station. It was so easy to find One Day Hanbok. It is located just in front of the station. This rental gave us so many Hanbok dress choices. After some confusing time, I chose a dress with pink and dark blue color. There were so many pretty hanbok. Of course, the rental hanbok is made simpler so we can wear it easily. We decided to take a stroll around Bukchon Hanok Village first because it was nearer. So yeah, we took a subway with HANBOK! So many people stared at us but it was okay because the hanbok was so pretty.

Bukchon Hanok Village is an area where you can find Korean Traditional House called Hanok. There are about a hundred Hanok in this area. Now, these traditional houses in Bukchon Village used as a cultural center, guest houses, or cafes. International tourists will be able to feel the historical and cultural side of Korea. When you visit this place you will find so many small and beautiful alleys. Don’t forget to strike a pose there. Maybe next time, it will be such an interesting experience if I try to spend at traditional guest house.

There was one episode when we visited Bukchon Village. We met 2 film crews; one was for comedy show I think, and 1 for drama shooting. For South Korea comedy show lovers, you definitely know Kim Jun Hyun. The one with big body and loves to eat. Finally after spent some days walking around Seoul, we met a comedian and actress HAHA. The one who was shooting a drama is Kim So Yeon (We Got Married). However, their crews were sooooo rude! They shouted loudly and spoke harsh words even to tourists that simply just want to stroll around that area. 

Actually, we went to Bukchon Area because of one well-known Tteokbokki Restaurant called Mukshidonna. You can find more information about Mukshidonna in my other post (8 Best Food Places at Seoul). It was impossible to get change first so we decided to eat in the restaurant wearing a hanbok too HAHA. Only 4 of us ate tteokbokki wearing hanbok that time. It was a really funny episode of our trip. After enjoying the delicious tteokbokki, we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace quickly because there was a limited time for rental hanbok.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the popular South Korea historical icon, especially in Seoul. This palace built in 1935 and also became the main royal palace in Joseon Dynasty. Now, Gyeongbokgung open for public and for those who wearing Hanbok doesn’t need to pay for the admission ticket. The palace has a really large area. Many tourists just taking a walk, strolling their afternoon time while enjoying the beauty of Gyeongbokgung. There were also a photography community who trying to take a good photos. 

One more funny episode from this Gyeongbokgung trip. Many tourists from China asked us to take a picture together because we wore hanbok. Everytime we walked, they always stopped us HAHA. Such an interesting experience. My favourite part from this enormous palace is Hwayeonjeong Pavilion. This beautiful pavilion surrounded by some kind of lake named Hwangyongji Pond. A bridge called Chwihyanggyo connected the pavilion with the road. Just imagine it when the winter or autumn season comes, it will become soooo pretty. Other than that, people visit Gyeongbokgung to see the changing of the Royal Guard. The changing ceremony held at 10 am and 2 pm everyday. 

Address : 161, Sajik-ro, Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Nearest Station : Gyeongbokgung Palace Station, Exit 5 or Gwanghwamun Station, Exit 2.
Closed every Tuesday