Wednesday, Day 26: Korean Folk Village

We visited the Korean Folk Village the last time I was in Korea, but Steve had never been there, so we were eager for him to see it.  Erika looked up the route on the computer last night. We could spend an hour on the subway to connect to a half hour shuttle bus that goes every half hour, plus needing to get to the subway, for a total of probably two hours. Mapquest said the Korean Folk Village was half an hour away, but that didn't take into acocunt Seoul traffic. It really was a debate, but in the end we decided that the car would allow us to take the stroller more easily. In fact, the drive took a little over an hour, and the return during rush hour, just under an hour and a half, so driving was the right decision although at one point as we sat totally stopped in traffic we wondered.

Unlike our previous visit, there were not 10,000 children on school outings. It was easy to see the shows and traditional houses. Front row seats for the farmers dance that I still find awesome.

Simeon wanted his picture taken with one of the guys with a "string," the ribbon on his hat.





He also enjoyed helping "make food" with a mortar and pestle not unlike the ones we used in Africa. Erika is carrying a water jar in a kind of backpack. African style on the head looks simpler to me.

There was also a baby carrying back pack, but we didn't figure out how you could do that without the baby falling out. There weren't re-inactors and English signage didn't answer all our questions. There were sometimes manikins in the houses like these in the nobleman's house where the traditional wedding ceremony took place.

I loved this garden in the middle of the scholar's house.

 And even more this scent garden.

Midday I saw teens sprawled in one of the gazebos, sleeping or on their phones. That looked like a good way to avoid pooping out mid afternoon. 

We left at 4. Simeon was asleep before we reached the highway. Steve and I sat in the car with him while his mom went into the commissary to buy vegies for supper. Then I sat in the car and read my e-book in the parking lot in front of the apartment while he continued to sleep. Pretty tiring day.

Last night we watched Planes. Tonight we watched Planes 2: Fire and Rescue, "Red Dusty" as Simeon calls it.  He has watched the first Planes movie at least a hundred times, and is well on the way with the second. He watched it at least five times on the iPad over the weekend. I saw the ending multiple times in the car as he kept rewinding to see Dusty turn red (as he becomes certified as a fire fighter), but we had never actually seen the movie start to finish until tonight. His favorite Wii Resort game is the flying one. I wonder how many little boys will grow up to be pilots thanks to Disney.

Korean Folk Village, Suwon

Friday Erika and I took Simeon along with some friends to the Korean Folk Village in Suwon. For my Indiana readers, think Conor Prairie on steroids and as crowded and as the Indianapolis Children's Museum during Christmas week. We visited a small folk village in Seoul when we were here in March, but this was WAY bigger. It reminded me of St. Fagans National History Museum outside Cardiff where I spent significant time researching Honddu Vale. South Africa definitely needs something like this to showcase the various cultures.

Evidentally, we picked a bad day. This is the beginning of their busy season. We later learned there were 10,000 children there that day. No wonder we felt overwhelmed! But they were so cute with their matching uniforms and back packs, the younger ones holding hands in pairs or clinging to a colored strap to keep them connected to their teacher.

The place was awesome. Right off we hit some shows including this Farmers Dance. Notice especially the men with the streamers on their hats and how they control them with a flick of the head. One guy messed up at one point and had the ribbon tangled around his neck, but that only demonstrated that it is NOT easy.

Simeon was eager to sit with the other kids--NOT Grammie.

This is a living history museum with houses and workshops from various parts of Korea amidst beautiful landscaping. My cousin is married to a Korean archaeologist who grew up in a village on Jejun Island represented by this traditional house, built of stone to withstand the strong island winds.

Jars out back are for fermenting kimchee, spicey pickled vegetables (especially cabbage) served with every meal.

One of the shows was a traditional wedding. Of course, I couldn't understand a thing. As in African weddings, the couple did not smile. 

The groom rode off on a horse followed by the bride in a litter.

Here are some of those 10,000 children in their school uniforms crossing the river.

Without a nap Simeon disintegrated by the end of the day, but he was eager to take a picture with this giant grasshopper made of ... grass.