Historic Villages of Korea: Yangdong and Hahoe

Yangdong and Hahoe Folk VillagesLocation: Near Andong and Gyeongju, South Korea

Visited: Sept, 2010, Oct, 2013

Site Type: Cultural

Inscribed: 2010

Opinion and Background:

Historic, average, gorgeous, bland, amazing, underwhelming, overwhelming! There are so many conflicting words that come to mind when I want to describe these two folk villages. How do you evaluate two places as a single entity when they give you completely different feelings? While Yangdong made me wonder why this was even considered “World Heritage Site” worthy, Hahoe is officially, my new favorite place in Korea. Read more

Korea’s Best: The Awesome Andong Mask Festival

Korean festivals and I have a long history that I must admit, hasn’t always been a happy one. While I love the idea of festivals and am glad that Korea has SOOO many of them, I approach them with caution. From time to time, I find myself in a place that is too crowded (Fireworks Festival), too overrated (Boryeong Mud Festival), and end up too disappointed (Yeosu Expo). I was pleasantly surprised that the Andong International Mask Festival not only lived up to my expectations, but surpassed them in every way!

Mask - Andong Mask Festival

For starters, this festival Read more