Visiting Seongeup Folk Village (성읍민속마을) in Jeju island

A traditional house with thatched roof

A traditional house with thatched roof

During our holiday trip to Jeju island we got the chance to visit Seongeup Folk Village and saw how the Koreans lived 400 years ago. It really felt like stepping back into time and onto the set of one of the Korean Drama serials which I had been following on TV.

Lava rocks as walls around the houses

Lava rocks as walls around the houses

Each house had rock lava wall around it. There is no cement in between the rocks and they are just layered one on top of each other to make a fence. The rocks are porous so rain water will just flow through the fence and it will not be damaged if there was a typhoon.

The traditional layout of a homestead

The traditional layout of a homestead

There is a long walkway to the main house which is flanked by the outhouse and also the barnyard/ kitchen. Most of the villagers were farmers and they grew their own produce.

The tour guide for the day

The tour guide for the day

The English speaking tour guide that we had explained to us the area below was used to rear ducks and other livestock. In the olden days their toilet was outdoors and any human waste was used to fertilize the ground below.

The famous black pig

The famous black pig

A adult black pig which we saw in it’s pig pen. Black pig meat is very popular among the Koreans and we did get to taste it while on holiday in Jeju.

A traditional milling device

A traditional milling device

This was the traditional way which rice/ soya was grounded using a milling device shown above. The animal/human had to push the heavy stone and walk in circles around it while the seeds were being grounded into powder/paste.

A shot of Tiger girl and me outside a house.

A shot of Tiger girl and me outside a house.

I love the solid wooden doors that I saw at the entrance of this house and we had to take a shot for remembrance.

The guardians of Jeju island

The guardians of Jeju island

I found these statues around a lot of places in Jeju island. It is their God of fertility.  It is said if you rub the nose of the statue you will be blessed with a boy. If you rubbed the ear you would be blessed with a girl.  R and I stayed far away from the status as we both agree no more boys or girls for us. Three is enough.

Have you visited any traditional villages lately?

 

 

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