Summer in Seoul – Bukchon Hanok Village

After visiting all the Palaces, next in our itinerary is Bukchon Hanok Village, the place where a number of Korean Dramas were being filmed.  I like the look of the Korean traditional house – Hanok.  Would love to stay in one at my next visit to Seoul.

From Insadong, where we stayed, it is walking distance to Bukchon and the first place to start with is the Bukchon Traditional Cultural Centre.  At the Centre, you get to learn about the history of Bukchon and Hanok.  Do collect the Bukchon Wanderings brochure that provide the information on the eight most characteristic views of Bukchon and the photo spots.

Bukchon is the place where you will find the most hanoks.  (“Buk” means Northern and “chon” means village).  It is surrounded by Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Jongmyo Shrine, home home to hundreds of traditional houses, dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. The village used to be an upscale residential area for the wealthy aristocrats and court employees.  Today, many of these hanoks operate as cultural centers, guesthouses, restaurants and tea houses, providing visitors with an opportunity to experience, learn and immerse in Korean traditional culture.  It is also a residential area, therefore we need to observe the volume of our voice when we talked there.

 

This house is the old residence of Inchon Kim Seoung-Su.  He was an educator, businessman, and journalist who devoted himself to national education, the promotion of national capital, and national enlightenment movement through journalism.  This house was used as a place of secret meetings among anti-Japanese independence activists during the preparatory stage of the February 8th Declaration of Independence and the early stage of the March 1st Movement.

As we continued walking up the slope, exploring Bukchon, we came across the Bukchon Observatory where they served drinks and a nice view of Bukchon from the third floor of the building at a fee.  We were glad we found this place as we were exhausted from all the walking and need a place to rest our feet.

The Lowdown – Bukchon Hanok Village

Address: 37, Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul  서울특별시 종로구 계동길 37 (계동)

Getting there: By Subway, Anguk Station (Line 3), Exit 2. Go straight for about 300m to arrive at Bukchon Hanok Village.

For more information on Bukchon, check out http://bukchon.seoul.go.kr/eng/index.jsp

 

Check out September in Seoul to read more about my vacation in Korea. In my next post, I will share my visit to Samcheongdong.  Stay tune!

 

Thank you for stopping by.  

Audrey

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