Yangdong Folk Village

While we were driving around the Korean countryside we stopped by Yangdong Folk Village. Over five hundred years old, it’s a functioning traditional village and the seat of two prominent Korean families. It’s also where N and I first got to know each other; we both lived there for a summer as part of a university study abroad trip way back when.

It was great to be back to the village. It was over ten years ago that we were there and it was even more better than I remembered it. Living there for a summer was a pretty amazing experience–we lived in an traditional compound with three houses (one for the girls, one for the boys, and one for our professor and his family), held our classes outside on the traditional wooden porch, washed our laundry by hand, taught classes at the local elementary school, and bathed outside using camping showers (except for when we could hitch into the next town to go to the bathhouse).

E outside the compound where we lived during our study abroad trip.

Us back where it all began.

The houses we lived in were at the top of a steep hill. I remember the walk being a bit of a pain but the view was/is spectacular.

I love the traditional houses.

The fields were golden with rice almost ready to harvest. When we lived in the village N and some of the boys helped plant rice (and had some leeches stick to their legs).

It was great to stroll around the village and down memory lane. The summer I spent in the village really cemented Korea’s place in my heart (and introduced me to my wonderful husband-to-be!)