Time now for our "Life & Info" segment,... where we focus on information useful for your
everyday life.
Today we are going to introduce the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province
- where visitors can see and feel what South Korea was like hundreds years ago.
The Korean Folk Village is hosting Joseon cultural festival and we have our Kan Hyeong-woo
in the studio to tell us more about it.
So Hyeong-woo, tell us more about this festival....
Mark, the name of this festival is 'Welcome to Joseon'.
The Joseon era was a dynastic kingdom that lasted for about five hundred years from the
late 1300s to the late 1800s.
At the Korean Folk Village, the setting is already in the Joseon-style with old architectures
and props.
On top of that, there are also actors dressed in traditional clothes of local government
officer, saddo, women trained as professional singer, dancer and companion for men, gisaeng,
and many more in Korean traditional clothes Hanbok.
The actors and actresses behave just like the characters from the Joseon era while actively
interacting with visitors.
You could technically time travel back to the old Korea there.
What should visitors expect to experience when they go?
Well they offer a range of performances but before we get into that, the scenery there
is wonderful and you can soak in all the authentic beauty of old Korea.
Let's get some reviews from the visitors I met there.
"Just so many programs, there's so many things.
The nature here is very nice, too.
The air is nice.
So it's a very nice place to come.
I feel like every foreigner who comes to Seoul must come to the Korean Folk Village to kind
of have an experience."
"It's been fun and educational.
It's nice that you can get to go through the traditional layout of how Korea used to be
and the food is good, too."
The Korean Folk Village offers a number of performances for visitors.
One of the most exciting events is the Equestrian Feats,... where professional riders put on
a show by displaying how the horse-riders used to train back in the Joseon Dynasty.
They also have a traditional wedding ceremony to show how people got married in the past.
While everyone dresses in traditional clothes, the bride and groom take off on their honeymoon
in the old-fashion way.
And there is a concert to celebrate the birth of local governor.
The performers dance to EDM music and play percussion instruments.
( ) EDM and Joseon Dynasty mixed in one performance.
It must be good fun.
Anyway, are there any hands-on experiences that visitors can enjoy?
They have this stamp tour.
I actually brought my stamp from there yesterday with me.
So there are twenty empty slots and to get the marks, there are two ways.
One is that you can try out different costumes from the Joseon Dynasty, including traditional
wedding clothes and officers' outfits.
But if you want to try on these costumes, you have to pay three-thousand won which is
bit less than three U.S. dollars.
Or you could buy a picnic lunchbox and a mat to get the stamps.
Once you have collected all of them, you will be given this 'Hopae' - an identification
tag used during the Joseon Dynasty.
One might wonder, 'why do I need to pay?'
But this was an actual practice of reaching social upper-class back in the Joseon era.
( ) This is what 'Hopae' looks like and it says
VIP Yangban, who were the upper-ruling class during that time.
Those who were in the lower-class could go around and buy the identification tag and
lift up their social standing.
Interesting.
Lastly, any tips you would like to give our viewers if they want to visit the Korean Folk
Village?
Given that it's a large place and most performances take place outside, you should definitely
check the weather before you decide to go.
The Korean Folk Village's 'Welcome to Joseon' festival runs through June 23rd and it is
located in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province, which is about a 30-minute drive from Seoul.
The venue opens every day from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM in April, and to 6:30 PM in May and
June.
The weekend hours are extended by 30 minutes.
The regular admission fee for adults is twenty-thousand Won, about seventeen U.S. dollars.
But they offer a number of promotions to give you discounts, so for more information you
should check out their official website.
Well Hyeong-woo, I guess that will do it for now.
Thank you for your coming in today.
It's been a pleasure.
Thank you.