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Korea, Travel

Korean Folk Village

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If you’re a traveler like me who is fascinated and loves to absorb themselves into another country’s culture, then this is a post for you!  Believe it or not some of my friends hate sightseeing and think its boring!  Why go to another country then!!??!

Anyways, in Korea a great way to have fun and learn about the culture is at the Korean Folk Village (KFV)!  This time was my second time going to the KFV and after the enriching experience I had the first time round, I knew I had to take Siree this time!

The KFV is made up of the actual folk village itself, two museums and an amusement park.  I’ve only been to the Folk Village and the museums, as the theme park ticket costs extra. At the KFV you can experience over 260 traditional houses from different parts of Korea, revived from the Joseon Dynasty, a traditional Bazaar with souvenir shops stocking traditional art products as well as traditional Korean foods cooked the authentic Korean way, and engage in traditional performances and activities.  The Korean Folk Museum offers in depth knowledge into Korean folk culture and the World Folk Museum offers a glimpse into the folk culture of many countries – though I’m not sure how accurate it is considering what they said about Australia was completely wrong! haha.

The entrance of the Folk Village ~ Looks so traditional
Traditional Housing
Nice traditional Korean style architecture. Look how detailed the roof painting is!
Soo pretty!! This would look so beautiful in Autumn. I can imagine a backdrop of red/purple/orange leaves.
Kimchi Pots!! These were everywhere in the village!! I wonder if they had any kimchi in them. Kimchi pots are the traditional way Koreans stored and fermented their kimchi!
Cute figurines and more kimchi pots!
Buddhist Temple – I love this photo!
Buddhist Temple – We could actually here monks chanting from inside these traditional temple buildings.
Buddhist Temple – These huge statues were at the front of the Buddhist temple gates. They must be some kind of gods or something…but I never thought Buddhists believed in gods…hmm
Traditional Performances – Farmer’s music and Dance
Traditional Performances – Equestrian Feats.  They do pretty amazing tricks with those horses!
Traditional Performances – Acrobatics on a Tightrope! The guy who does it is no joke like 80 years old or something!! I worry every time he jumps and lands on the tightrope that he will collapse and fall!
The image on the right is actually thousands of paper wishes tied up into the string. The picture of the left shows how bloody cold it was!! Even flowing water has frozen!!!
Wish and messages wall!~
Traditional Korean methods of torture
Koreans joining in with torture methods haha!
The guy on the right is making traditional Korean Masks
LOL I love this Konglish!!
World Folk Museum – Apparently this is Australian Cuisine!? I have never had or seen this dish in Australia in my entire life!? Sayyy whaaa??
Siree and I couldn’t handle the cold anymore so we went into a traditional tea house to warm up. We indulged in traditional teas, although mine was a little sweet! Still the tea cups and saucers were so pretty!

Map:

Folk Village Map

Transportation

From anywhere in Seoul, you can either catch a train to Gangnam Station (line 2) or to Suwon Station (Line 1)

From Gangnam, you want to catch bus 5001 – 1 from the main bus bay area.  It can be little tricky to find the correct bus stand, so if any problems, ask someone.  DO NOT trust the transportation directions on the Visit Korea site!!! They have the wrong bus number!! Half our day was gone trying to find bus 5000 – 1 which does not exist!!! (I believe the bus number has since been corrected.)

From Suwon catch bus 37 or 10-5.

Opening Times

Winter: 9AM – 5PM

Summer: 9AM – 6:30PM

Cost

Ticket entry: 15,000 won includes the Folk Village and the museums.  That’s less than $15.  Entry to the amusement park costs extra.

Performances

Farmer’s Music and Dance:  11AM and 3PM (MAR – OCT) 2:30PM (NOV – FEB)

Tightrope Acrobatics: 11:30AM and 3:30PM (MAR – OCT) 3PM (NOV – FEB)

Traditional Wedding: 12PM and 4:30PM (MAR -OCT) 4PM (NOV)

Equestrian Feats: 1PM and 4PM (MAR – OCT) 3:30PM (NOV – FEB)

Activities

  • Pottery making
  • Playing with traditional Korean games and punishment methods
  • Haunted House
  • Dress in a traditional Hanbok and take photos
  • Horseback riding

 

 

 

Korea, Popular Posts, Travel

Your Winter Guide to Everland

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Your Winter Guide To Everland

elcome to Korea’s largest theme park! If there’s anything South Korea does well, it’s theme parks and I would estimate there’s at least 10 major theme parks in South Korea alone.  This is particularly amazing when you compare that to Australia, which only has about 6 theme parks and is a whopping 78 times bigger than Korea! As Korea’s largest themepark, Everland is also one of the 4 major theme parks in the world.

Everland’s sole aim is to make people happy, and it does.  But is Everland always magical every day of the year? Let’s find out.

For those that don’t know, Everland has annual festivals much like Disneyland, where the park’s decorations, shows and parades all change to suit the new theme.

If you’re traveling in winter, there are two festivals in Everland:

  1. Nov – Dec: Winter Wonderland (formerly known as “Christmas Fantasy”)
  2. Jan – Feb: Snow Festival (previously known as “Winter Wonderland”)

As someone who went to both Winter Festivals, one greatly outshone the other.  Let’s compare both experiences:

Everland Snow Festival

Everland’s Winter Wonderland Festival: Nov – Dec

hen I went to Everland the first time I went on December 17th during the Christmas Fantasy Festival (now called Winter Wonderland) and it was absolutely beautiful.  I had never seen so many Christmas lights.   Judging by the images online, the newly named ‘Winter Wonderland’ looks very much the same, just with a different name.

What you can expect during this festival is the entire park to be immaculately covered in lights, with a Christmas theme.

How it differs from the Snow Festival (Jan – Feb):

Everland: Winter Wonderland

Everland Attractions Nov & Dec

Everland: Four Seasons Garden

FOUR SEASONS GARDEN

Millions of flowers welcome you in a magic garden all year round.  Enjoy the fascinating themes of seasonal flowers, including the tulips and roses of spring, the lilies of summer, the chrysanthemums of autumn and the snowflakes of winter.

Everland: Magic in the Sky

MAGIC IN THE SKY

Magic in the Sky is a winter night performance that includes lasers, searchlights and a snow machine.  It’s an impressive winter night experience!

Everland: Moonlight Parade

MOONLIGHT PARADE

A brilliant parade lights up the night of Everland.

Everland: Magic Lighting

LIGHTING Ceremony

The lighting ceremony takes the day garden and lights it up in spectacular fashion to welcome the night.  In winter you can expect a winter wonderland of fairylights, decorated pine trees, and the central highlight – a giant Christmas Tree!

T-Express Everland

T EXPRESS

The steepest wooden roller coaster in the world presents sudden drops and sharp rises at 104 km per hour!
Welcome to Everland’s most thrilling experience.  During the Winter Wonderland festival, the T Express is operational unless there is severe weather.

Everland: Snow Buster Sledding

SNOW BUSTER Sledding

Sledding fun for the whole family!

Everland: Winter Wonderland

Everland: Winter Wonderland

Everland in Winter

The Christmas Decorations during the Winter Wonderland Festival (Nov – Dec) are absolutely stunning!

Everland in Winter

Everland - Winter Wonderland

Everland in Winter

A few shots of the ‘Four Seasons Garden’  lit up in winter, as well as the stage for the ‘Magic in the Sky’  and ‘Lighting Ceremony’

Everland’s Snow Festival: Jan – Feb

Everland: Winter

oving Everland the first time, I decided to take Siree there when we traveled to Korea about two years later.   We visited during Everland’s then “Winter Wonderland Festival”, now known as the Snow Festival.  Unfortunately, it is probably the worst season to visit Everland.  This is due to a couple of reasons:

  1. Many rides and food stalls were closed because of the cold – this included things like T Express and Safari Adventures  – Both MAJOR park attractions.
  2. The park closed early and was not open at night.
  3. Due to point two, there is a lack of parades and shows, particularly those at night – The ‘Moonlight Parade,’ ‘Lighting Ceremony’ and ‘Magic in the Sky’ weren’t on during this festival.  They were so magical the first time I went.
  4. The entire back section of the park was closed off.  During other festivals, this section is completely decorated and lovely to walk through.

On the plus side, there are significantly less people during this time of year, so lines for rides are not as long.

Everland Snow Festival

Snapshot of a parade during Jan – Feb at Everland

Everland Attractions: Jan & Feb

Yes that’s right, there’s only TWO outdoor events.  But in some cases, there may even be only one outdoor event available – when we visited the four seasons garden was closed off.  The only way to see what will be open during your visit, is to check the Everland Schedule. Unfortunately it only shows the schedule for the current week, so you’ll only be able to check it within a week of your visit.

Everland: Four Seasons Garden

FOUR SEASONS GARDEN

Millions of flowers welcome you in a magic garden all year round.  Enjoy the fascinating themes of seasonal flowers, including the tulips and roses of spring, the lilies of summer, the chrysanthemums of autumn and the snowflakes of winter. This attraction is closed in February.

Everland: Snow Buster Sledding

SNOW BUSTER Sledding

Sledding fun for the whole family! During the Snow Festival the Snow Buster sledding is only available in February.  It is closed in January.

Everland Snow Festival - Entrance Gate

Everland entrance gates

Everland Snow Festival

Everland Snow Festival

Everland Snow Festival - Gift Sops

Everland Snow Festival - T Express

The T Express

Everland Snow Festival

Everland Snow Festival

The Verdict: Should you visit Everland in Nov & Dec OR Jan & Feb?

When it comes down to it, visiting Everland is always going to be fun no matter what season you visit, however you definitely get more value for money when you visit during March – December than you do in the months of January and February.  The reason for this is that while the entrance fees stay the same price through out the year, the park during January and February is a little lack lustre.  As mentioned in this blog post, during this time a lot of the major attractions are closed like the T Express & Safari Adventures, food stalls are deserted, the park closes early so you don’t get the opportunity to see the night shows and so on.  Overall, if you’re visiting Everland in winter, plan to visit in November or December.

Everland General Information

Entrance Fees

  1. Day Ticket: Adult: 56,000 won  |   Child: 44,000 won
  2. Night Ticket (after 5PM): Adult: 46,000 won  |   Child: 37,000 won
  3. Two Day Pass: Adult: 87,000 won  |   Child: 69,000 won

Foreigners also get a special discount coupon: click here!!  View more coupons here.

View Everland’s facilities.

Opening Hours

Spring, Summer and Autumn: 10am – 10pm

Winter: 10am – 9pm and 10am-8pm (sometimes it’s even earlier, check the opening hours.)

Transportation:

This really depends on where you are travelling from, but if you are staying Seoul based, you want to catch a train to Gangnam Station (Line 2) then catch bus #5002 from Gangnam.

Map

Map of Everland

Click on the map above to download the larger version from the official Everland website.

Updated 10 July 2018