South Korea – Part 6

To anyone who will devote a day to Korea, I recommend visiting Andong with the nearby village of Hahoe, one of the few typical Korean villages that has retained its original appearance from the 16th century, when it was founded during the Joseon Dynasty and in which people still live today. Hahoe Village has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2010.

In addition to the village of Hahoe, Andong offers many attractions, from the Korean Folklore Museum to the museum in the still functioning distillery of traditional Korean Soju brandy. More than the sights, however, it is its urban vibe that is important and which will make us feel comfortable and welcome. The city is also famous for its folklore festival, which coincides with the Masked Dance Festival (both in late September and early October). Andong is also a place where you won’t go hungry, as in every street there is a restaurant with typical Korean barbecue – a restaurant where there is a chimney above each table and where you can prepare delicious grilled specialties with the help of waiters and enjoy with a glass of traditional rice, known as makgeolli.

On the railway line between Seoul and Andong, the smaller city of Danyang is the starting point for Sobaeksan National Park and the Guin-sa Buddhist Temple. It is a huge complex that rises along the slope and is one of those temples where you can also spend the night and live with Buddhist monks for a day or two. It is also the centre of the Cheontae Buddhist Order, which has a 1,400-year history on Mount Cheontae. The Cheontae Order was founded by Zhiyi (538–597 AD), another member of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. A visit to the temple is a perfect combination of culture, history and recreation, as it is located between the foothills, where the bus ride ends, and the "Nirvana palaces", with considerable height difference and distance. For those who might not find it challenging to settle in a temple and live with monks, you can spend the night in Danyang, or return to Seoul the same day.

Andong and Danyang will also soon get a modern fast connection to the KTX train from Seoul, but the current travel time is about two hours to Danyang and an additional hour to Andong.

Gyeongju is another UNESCO World Heritage Site far from Seoul, but only two hours from the capital due to KTX's extremely good and fast rail link. Gyeongju is referred to in most guides as "must see" and boasts so many sights that it would take almost an entire article to write about; from Buddhist temples, to ancient burial grounds. Not even traditional houses and well-kept parks are missing. The most prominent are the ruins of the astronomical observatories, known as Cheomseongdae, which are very imposing but by far not the only reason to visit. Thanks to the aforementioned high-speed trains, Gyeongju can also be experienced as a day trip from Seoul, but I do not recommend such a trip, as in Gyeongju take time to breathe and relax, and not just run from one sight to another.

Just like listing places of interest in Gyeongju, the list of places worth visiting could continue almost indefinitely, but it has to end somewhere. For any additional information about accommodation in South Korea, please contact the Slovenian or South Korean Youth Hostel Association at www.youth-hostel.si and www.youthhostel.or.kr.