Visiting Seongeup Folk Village (성읍민속마을) in Jeju island
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
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
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 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
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
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.
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
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?
July 16, 2013 @ 4:48 pm
I love that you share your travels!
July 16, 2013 @ 8:49 pm
Love to see your travels….
July 16, 2013 @ 8:54 pm
That looks like an amazing place! We did go to some historical places in May. We saw where the Pilgrims landed in America and a couple other places in that same area.
July 16, 2013 @ 9:59 pm
Lovely! Funny comment on that fertility statue! Oh my!
July 16, 2013 @ 11:02 pm
Very cool shots!
July 16, 2013 @ 11:11 pm
Hari OM
Hey Dominique – that was a super trip!! I have been very fortunate to have visited many places such as this – perhaps the most famous that you may know of is Old Sydney Town in NSW Australia. There they also had folk playing the parts of residents – in character. We all tried to make them slip back into 20th century (as it was then), but they were all too expert for that!!! Nice pass on the idols by the way &*> YAM xx
July 17, 2013 @ 1:58 am
Never been to South Korea! Thanks for taking me there through your pictures. Now I am looking forward to visiting SK soon.
July 17, 2013 @ 8:23 am
hahaha… your last paragraph is very cute!
I thought you went on a free and easy trip
July 17, 2013 @ 12:46 pm
@shook,
we did go on a free an easy trip but joined the 1 day local tour when we were there.
July 17, 2013 @ 11:30 am
Oh wow…what a wonderful thing to be able to see something that is a part of history…I love visiting places like this…will put this on my wish list of places to see…thanks for sharing. 🙂
July 17, 2013 @ 12:25 pm
That’s so cool! I’ve never been to a village like that.
July 17, 2013 @ 12:49 pm
Fascinating and beautiful part of the world. Such history.
July 17, 2013 @ 1:28 pm
Looks like a whole other time!
July 17, 2013 @ 5:58 pm
How fun! Historical stuff is always so interesting- I can’t believe people used to live like that!
July 17, 2013 @ 7:49 pm
I want to travel the world one day and take in places like this. It’s amazing to see how people live!
July 17, 2013 @ 7:56 pm
I wish we had more more “villages” to visit here in NYC. That looked like a great experience. Love the photo of you and your daughter
July 17, 2013 @ 7:57 pm
what a great visit and super history lesson–I’d stay away from those gods too =]
July 17, 2013 @ 8:37 pm
I love showing my children how it use to be..
July 17, 2013 @ 8:43 pm
How exciting and educational.
July 17, 2013 @ 9:10 pm
Wow! What a beautiful place to visit! When I was a kid, my family visited historical places in the US, it’s so neat to see how people lived in the past.
July 17, 2013 @ 9:25 pm
These are amazing photos. It looks like you and your family had an awesome experience thank you for sharing.
July 17, 2013 @ 9:25 pm
What a great holiday! I love the pics.
July 17, 2013 @ 10:20 pm
It must have been a fun and very knowledge-feeding tour around this area. I have never been to any traditional places before but I should probably check some someday soon! I enjoyed the photos here.
July 17, 2013 @ 10:21 pm
What an incredible place! Thank you for sharing! Happy WW!
July 17, 2013 @ 10:59 pm
Wow that is cool! My husband would love all of that history.
July 17, 2013 @ 11:07 pm
This is all so amazing and fortunate for you. Thank you for linking up. I may not have seen this otherwise. THANK YOU!
July 17, 2013 @ 11:22 pm
Wow Dominque! Thank you so much for that lesson on Korea! I bet that was an amazing holiday. Thank you for sharing and linking up with me! 🙂
July 17, 2013 @ 11:38 pm
Reminds us of how many luxuries we have in our lives, right?
July 17, 2013 @ 11:45 pm
Fascinating! Growing up in Yorkshire, England, I learned about dry stone wall building. It is a skill, perhaps an art form, whereby the farmers build walls similar to the ones in your pictures. They don’t use cement; it’s a balancing act. Interesting how cultures so far apart come up with such similar solutions!
July 17, 2013 @ 11:51 pm
Looks like a very interesting way to spend an afternoon.
July 18, 2013 @ 12:06 am
Such cool photos! What a neat trip.
July 18, 2013 @ 12:09 am
Wow, what an experience!
July 18, 2013 @ 12:36 am
I’d love to visit there!
July 18, 2013 @ 2:01 am
What a neat vacation! I love learning about historical stuff like this!
July 18, 2013 @ 2:32 am
Fascinating! But wow am I glad to be living now and not then.
♥ aquariann
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July 18, 2013 @ 3:14 am
Super interesting!!
July 18, 2013 @ 7:43 am
This is simply fascinating. I love to see the architecture of the village homes… and what beautiful gardens. 🙂
July 18, 2013 @ 9:11 am
I’ve seen the place on Korean drama that I’m watching. I wish to visit Korea..
July 18, 2013 @ 10:17 am
how neat!
July 18, 2013 @ 11:07 am
south korea is so rich in history there’s always a story wherever you may go. i think it’s cool that you got to visit a traditional village just like the ones we see in historical dramas nowadays. they had it pretty then, huh? but they survived and even managed to make the most of what they had. i’d probably die early if i lived in that period. hehe!
July 18, 2013 @ 12:23 pm
Fantastic photos and history! And I had to laugh at the last part about you avoiding the fertility statues. Hahaha!
July 18, 2013 @ 1:35 pm
What an awesome experience! I love seeing how things once were. I love that they needed lava walls though!
July 18, 2013 @ 2:40 pm
This looks like a great place to visit. You have captured well the beauty of the place.
July 18, 2013 @ 8:16 pm
what interesting photos.
July 20, 2013 @ 8:28 am
oh my goodness! I love going to places like this, whether it be history or just something so far fetched that makes you really appreciate what you have. Thank you for sharing this with us!