Korean Folk Village - Part 3

Of course, after touring the Korean Folk Village, I HAD to do some shopping in their souvenir shops. Do you have idea what that is in the picture above? I didn't but I thought they were cute. They are ceramic and hand painted.



They are chopstick rests. I never heard of them but when I showed them to Curt (hubby) when he came home from work, he knew exactly what they were. Now, my mother would wonder what I am going to do with them. I'm not sure but they were so cool, I had to get them. They were 15,00o won ($15.00 US).



I love boxes and one can never have too many! This one was so unique and beautiful. I thought to buy it for my daughter but I just had to keep it for myself.


This is what it looks like opened up. The price was 35,000 won ($35.00 US).

I love the hand painted Korean scrolls. This one just screamed to me, "BUY ME!" Of course, I did. It is pretty large, about 2 1/2 feet long byd 1 foot across, just the painted section alone. The cost, 50,000 won ($50.00 US).

A Korean man was painting these and selling them for 3000 won ($3.00 US) a piece. He had a piece of paper that translated all the sayings to help you make a decision. I chose one about happiness and family. I should have written down what it said exactly. I didn't really look at it too closely but when I showed it to Curt, he said, "Do you know that's Chinese characters?" Duh, I can tell the difference but it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be Korean. But Hangul (Korean characters) was developed in the 1400's, until that time most Koreans could not read or write because Chinese characters were too difficult. Many children today are still taught the Chinese characters.

Mr. Choi was really worried that Curt would be upset by all the spending I was doing. It was really endearing. His wife did buy what I thought was a pestle and mortal but Mr. Choi said that it was used to grind sesame seeds. I have no idea why you would want to do that but that's just something else I need to learn about South Korea. My education here never ends.

Korean Folk Village - Part 2

After lunch we continued our tour of the Korean Folk Village. The wheel wasn't actually turning but it still made a beautiful sight.

I would not want white eyebrows! I thought this sign was hilarious.

A woman making a Korean hanbok by hand. You seen hanbok stores almost on every block here in Suwon, at least the area I live in.

Molds that were used to decorate rice cakes.

I never did find the food if you wanted to increase your odds for having a girl. Hmmmm.

While pregnant, if you dream of any of the items on the top row, you will have a boy. If you dream items on the bottom row, a girl. I just know that when I was pregnant with my daughter, I craved McDonald's fish sandwiches which I never liked before or after her birth. My son, I craved and had to chew ice, every waking moment. My jaws were so sore during that time and I ended up cracking most of my molars. The cravings went away immediately after each birth.

This Korean "kit" for childbirth made me physically shudder. I was really creeped out.

This basket contains the items from which a baby would choose during the celebration of their 1st birthday. The item chosen could foretell the baby's future. If the baby chose a book, it meant they would be a scholar. If the baby chose money, he/she would be wealthy or never want for money. The items has changed over the centuries.


This is a baby carriage. It looks mighty uncomfortable to me and I wondered if the baby was tied down somehow so he/she wouldn't fall off.

I must be the most ignorant person on the face of the earth. I never knew soy sauce was made from soy beans. I really didn't! This shows the process. Mr. Choi got a kick out of me and asked me where I thought soy sauce came from. Of course, I answered, "the grocery store."

This is a student's desk.

Ancient fans.

Baskets used to store caught fish.

Making mandu.

Making kimchi.

The table for a Korean 60 year old birthday party. I asked Mr. Choi if he did this on his 60th and he laughed and said, "No, No."

The architecture is so amazing.

We found Koreans working on adding ingredients to kimchi pots.

Here she is adding some peppers to a kimchi pot.

There were a ton of kimchi pots in this area. Each one had a tag to keep track of it. This pot of kimchi is from 2003.

I was surprised to see so many Koreans working here.

Mr. Choi's wife was just a pistol. She was always talking and telling him where we should go. Then he told me the most profound thing I've ever heard. He said her nagging is like music to his ears because what would life be like if it were to cease. I almost started to cry. I haven't heard something that touching in a long time.

This sign was in a museum of the Korean dramas that reenact ancient times.

I found this sign in the same museum. Okay.

Sometimes the English interpretation here in Korea just cracks me up.

Somebody has to keep all these building clean.

The ceiling of the Chinese medicine room.

Where they keep all the roots and plants used in Chinese medicine.

This woman was spinning silk using real silk worms.

That pot had the silk worms in it.

Spinning the silk into fabric.

A closeup of one of the roofs. It looked so cool. I wondered how often they had to replace it.

A potter working on a bowl.

Another potter.

This potter was starting her pot by winding logs of clay around into a bowl shape. Then she smoothed out the clay using her fingers.

The Korean Folk Village is a working village. You can see demonstrations of so many Korean crafts. It ended up still being pretty muddy when we were there so keep that in mind if you ever decide to go. It was well worth it and I feel a must see if you ever visit South Korea.

I also took some video but I need to have hubby splice it all together. So that will be coming up in the future.