Bukchon Hanok Village

Bukchon Hanok Village, between Gyeongbukgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, is a collection of hundreds of traditional houses called ‘hanok’ that date back to the Joseon Dynasty. I imagine much of it has been rebuilt since the Korean War and many of the buildings look like they are new constructions built with traditional methods, but the area is meant to be a preservation of an urban environment in Korea 600 years ago.

It’s pretty easy to get to. Take subway line 3 to Anguk Station, take exit 2, and follow the road about 200m until you see an information booth. Grab a map, and follow the recommended path.

Obviously, this is a newly constructed hanok based on traditional design and construction principles.

As you wonder the streets, you will see classes for all manner of traditional activities advertised.

Near the information center there are lots of small boutique shops. As you go deeper into the hanok village, there are fewer and fewer shops.

The Uncle Bob sign caught my eye, reminded me of Terminator 2 when John Connor introduces Arnold Schwarzenegger as "uncle Bob".

Jihyeon found a store filled with all sorts of unique hand crafted nick nacks that she loved.

Inside.

Jihyeon intensely examining the ear rings.

Hanbok Experience!

This was a strange sight. It is a school (i'm guessing a private school) which reminded me of Professor Exavier's school for gifted youngsters.

You can learn how to tie traditional Korean knots at the Donglim Knot Museum.

We then stopped in at a Samgyetang restaurant for some lunch.

The price seemed reasonable and the food looked good. Apparently they use organically grown chickens, whatever that means.

Waiting for our meal.

Bottles of Ginseng, one of the key ingredients for Samgyetang, decorate the walls.

Lunch arrived. There is a whole baby chicken submerged in there.

After lunch, we stopped for some organic ice-cream.

Walking around the village, we spotted this Buddha hiding on a roof.

Which way?

Namsan Tower in the distance.

After we had our fill of traditional Korean architecture, we headed off to our next destination...