Sunday, May 19, 2019

Andong Attractions - Okyeon Jongsa Residence & Hahoe Ancient Village

The best place of my recent 8 days trip to South Korea was the visit to Andong's ancient village. My Korean buddy suggested that I should visit and stay a night there since I love historical places very much.




 1. We wasted no time and booked for a night's stay at Okyeon Jeongsa through booking.com site. This marvelous jewel with colourful and rich history sits on the cliff which overlooks the Nakdong River.



2. I was very impressed by the whole place which was the private residence built over 430 years ago for the Ryu Sung Ryong who was the Prime Minister of Joseon Dynasty during the 16th century.




3. Everything here has been well preserved and kept in its original state since the 16th century! There are 4 bedrooms that comes with own private sitting area with writing table.



4. This young and handsome Ryu Seung Hwan is the 16th generation's descendant of the famous Prime Minister Ryu Sung Ryong. Seung Hwan who studied in US, speaks very fluent English and provides very attentive and helpful services towards all his staying guests. As seen in many reviews online, they appreciated his effort to go all out to make them very comfortable and happy. The above photo was the actual location where the famous Korean TV Drama "Jingbirok" was filmed about the life of Joseon Dynasty's Prime Minister who was highly commended by the Emperor of Ming Dynasty in China. It is unbelievable that I came to stay at this actual former Prime Minister's residence after watching his life story drama over the television.




 5. The long corridor of the 2 bedrooms with the original wooden floors dated over 430 years ago. They are still solid and strong till today.




6. My buddy sitting by the opened wooden & paper windows to admire the peaceful view outside.



7. This is the cozy sitting area with full windows that faced behind towards the hill slopes of lush greenery and pine trees planted over hundreds of years ago.




 8. My buddy lies comfortably like a slut on the comfortable soft mattress.



9. This pine tree is as old as the Prime Minister's residence which dated over 430 years ago.



 10. It was a real eye opener to see how this Ryu family is feeding the pine tree with syringed bottles of different plant food. The tree really drinks the liquid from all bottles like a baby.



11. This is the morning's breakfast spread being served for each room's 2 guests. The delicious food is freshly cooked daily and served with high quality Korean tea.





 12. My Korean buddy taught me how to eat and behave like a typical Korean. Use the chopstick to pick up the rice and stick to a piece of seaweed paper. Just eat the whole wrap! Bingo!



 13. Seung Hwan showed me where the chopped pine firewood would be placed inside the hole to heat up beneath the wooden floor during the cold seasons. This "On-Dol" method of heating is definitely the best and only being practiced in Korea since ancient times.



 14. The serene panoramic view of the Nakdong River from the Okyeon Jeongsa residence. I will make a trip back to stay at Okyeon Jeongsa again someday. You should also stay at this historical place to enjoy a piece of Korea's famous history and landmark.




15. The 4 bathrooms are not attached to the bedrooms but located in another block a short distance away. This was exactly how the Prime Minister's residence was built during the 16th century.





 16. The individual modern bathrooms have been refurbished with top notch tiles, shower facilities and comes complete with all the towels and toiletries. 




 17. You won't be bored with the quaint town of Andong as they have many restaurants, shops and the famous Hahoe Folk Village. We watched their famous Korean Masks Dance in the packed arena where the majority of the audience were local Koreans from neighbouring towns.



 18. It was comical and entertaining to watch the masks dances.




19. Welcome to the straw roofed houses at Hahoe Folk Village. The Ryu families originated from here and lived together since 600 years ago!





 20. We had a nice long walk around the whole village to admire the straw roofed houses.



 21. It was Spring. The weather was still cold with blooming flowers and fruits everywhere.




 22. I was kinda shocked to see the Korean spring onions. They are so fat with flowers blooming at the tip!



23. I spent hours admiring the straw roofed houses with mud clay walls. 




 24. Yours truly relaxing inside the forest of Pine Trees. The air was fresh and fragrant.



25. This is the famous Nakdong River. The Okyeon Jeongsa residence actually sits on the cliff across this river.



*****


36 comments:

  1. What a nice stay and experience Anay!

    Thank you for sharing. Gonna bookmark this post for any future trip to Korea. ;)

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    1. My crystal ball says you will visit South Korea very soon. You must visit Andong which is located in between Seoul to Busan. Go Lina Go!

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  2. Some of the doors look low. And the tree-feeding photo is a little scary le.

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    1. Yes I noticed many doors were low but they could be larg windows actually. Their main front doors are all normal sized.

      I had personally done a research study on the foot plasters which are sold at pharmacy outlets. Most of them have sachet plasters which contain pine wood powder which has the best absorbent benefits to withdraw toxins from beneath our foot. Scientists in Japan had used stethoscope to listen to the old pine trees where they drank water loudly inside the trunks.

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  3. wow! truly very ancient looking. you must habe felt you travelled back in time. Since the place is so old, there must be many spirits around. did you meet any? can they speak English or just korean?

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    1. I knew that one of my past lives was living as a warrior in Korea. So I was excited to sleep at the ancient big house like a Deja Vue. I was surprised that it has good energy and no spirits lurking there even at night. I felt so safe to walk to the toilet at midnight holding an umbrella as it was drizzling freezing rain.

      However in Busan, it was another story at the hotel I stayed. The male spirit stood at my door and looked at me!! He was unsure whether he was allowed to come in.....

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    2. ah, you must write about this busan busan male spirit you met in your next post. this korean spirit is so polite to seek your permission before entering your room.

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  4. Wow, I’m impressed! Didn’t know these historical houses offer tourists such experiences. Cool!

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    1. It was truly a surprise for me too when my Korean friend insisted that we should stay a night at that historical house.

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  5. When I went Korea in 2002, we stayed at a few hotels and one of the hotels was decorated like the historical house which you stayed, I had goosebumps when I sleep in it especially when I discovered that there was a eerie mirror inside one of the rooms which reminded me of Sadako!!!

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    1. When you get goosebumps, that means the unseen had body contacts or stood inches away from you. They are almost everywhere as they outnumber the entire human population.

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  6. I really like this kind of setting and atmosphere. It's like going back in time and yet with modern facilities because toilet is very important for me hee..hee... I am fascinated by those spring onions. I would not have known if you did not mention. The breakfast looks simple and yet nourishing. I wonder what kind of rice is that, purple color just like what is served at Nene Chicken.

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    1. This Okyeon Jeongsa would be the perfect honeymoon place for you. I wished that I had stayed a little longer but my friend had to rush back to Seoul.

      That purple rice is indeed the same one served at Nene Chicken. You must try real fried chicken in Korea! They are even better than KFC or Kyochon anytime.

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  7. It's look so serene and peaceful.. with no other tourists!
    Thanks for sharing. Lovely holidays.

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    1. I believe you are planning to visit South Korea someday. If you plan to visit Busan, you will pass this Andong Village on the way. You will love it.

      That day, this Okyeon Jeongsa's 4 bedrooms were fully occupied by us, a Thai couple and other Korean VIPs.

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  8. Truly amazing how the wooden residences still exists undamaged and retreating people. Interesting how they nurtured the tree like how medicines injected at humans and the natural heating underfloor method. I loved the formation of this village built with natural materials of stalk and mud to withstand this long! Beautiful river views... I hope it was memorable and thank your friend to take you there.

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    1. I agree that it is truly amazing when I stepped inside that historical place. My heart was filled with excitement to be able to sleep there for a night where the most famous people in the Korean history had visited and lived too.

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  9. It must have taken so much effort to maintain the place in such a good condition! Looks so peaceful!

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    1. You are so observant to notice that the whole place has been very well maintained to mint condition. The rooms and bathrooms were spotlessly clean & comfortable. The price is on the high side but the opportunity to stay there is even more priceless to me. Elsewhere, historical places would often become museums for public viewing only. At Okyeon Jeongsa, I could walk around, sleep and laze at the corridors & garden to run my imagination back to how the 16th century Joseon Dynasty was like. Please visit there someday.

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  10. The pine tree with syringed bottles looked creepy for me ler >_<
    I wonder what fruits are they? Did you tried it? The "spring onion"looked unique, but are you sure they are spring onion? O.O

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    1. At first I thought the Pine Tree was sick like patients with drips of water bottles in hospitals. It turns out to be plant food to keep it strong and healthy to outlive more humans. You can see pines trees all over China and Japan too!

      You can google the word 'spring onion flowers' and you can see lots of photos plus write ups about this spring onions that smells like ours at home. They only bloom flowers in spring at cold climate countries.

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  11. Such a great review of Andong travel !!

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    1. Thank you for your comments. I hope you will visit Andong and stay at Okyeon Jeongsa.

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  12. Very interesting place. It's impressive!

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    1. Yes this place is impressive and interesting. When you come to Korea, please visit Andong and stay at Okyeon Jeongsa too.

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  13. Thanks for the 'lesson' on how to eat like a typical Korean...hehehe! ;) Omg, I've never seen such fat spring onions...they look just like a stem/stalk of flower! :O

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    1. Korea has very own unique culture that differs from Japan and China. Those guys and my other Korean room mate has been trying to instill their culture into me. I had culture shocks instead. LOLOL

      I saw the vegetable farms at that village and they grew lots of blooming spring onions as they eat a lot in their daily dishes. I believe they would pluck them before or after the flowers bloomed, depending on their needs for the texture and smell of the spring onions. My friend was surprised that our skinny spring onions don't flower at all.

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  14. such a nice friend to show u around and taught u local cultural (well, to eat like a Korean!)

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    1. I am always grateful that I have such Korean friends and lived together as students to understand their culture better! I remember how I shocked them by frying their cooked Korean ramen in my wok to make Mamak Mee Goreng with eggs and meat. They loved it, of course! LOL

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  15. Hi! I enjoyed your post very much. A few decades ago,our coumpany imported various kind of handbaggs from Korea.

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    1. Thank you very much for your compliments. The fashion scene in Korea is always ahead and nice.

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  16. I like the feeding system for the tree. I would like to do that for my plants too especially when I am away on a holiday.

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    1. Now you make me think and ponder how it could be done too.

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    ReplyDelete

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