Sunday morning, I finally got into my apartment and settled in a bit (ha...ha). Actually I didn't do much unpacking at all, I mostly just vegged out. It was a very Scarlet O'Hara day...and I decided I would worry about unpacking tomorrow.
Fiddle-dee-dee! Tomorrow came and instead I decided that I felt comfortable enough to venture out on the Subway on my own. I invited another teacher whose email I had gotten, and she said she would like to come along. We took a trip to Namsangol Hanok Village, as it was one of the only places on my list that was open on Mondays AND it was free admission! You can't beat free.
The village is a collection of five hanok houses (traditional Korean style houses) that have been moved from various locations throughout Seoul in order to preserve them and display Korea's architectural heritage. In a way, the mission reminded me of Living History Farms (except there weren't any interpreters walking around in hanboks-- traditional Korean women's dress).
Before we entered that portion of the museum there was a man weaving various different items out of rice straw. Quite impressive.
Among my favorites of the items being woven (and reminiscent of my time at the Farms):
Korean chicken coop! A basket woven from rice straw for a chicken to lay in.
Korean egg collector! These were in all of the homes as well-- hanging in what I assumed were the kitchens (pictures of those later).
Korean whisk broom! The best part is, my neighbors have a larger one of these sitting outside their apartment. I have also seen them being used in various restaurants.
Hanok style homes, from what I gathered typically had multiple different buildings. All of the homes that were at this place were not complete. Many had just two rooms, when the information said they originally had five. This hanok was built and lived in by a carpenter who helped to rebuild Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul from 1865-1868.
You can imagine, working for the government and rebuilding the palace, this man had a decent amount of won laying around. The only surviving structures of this home are two buildings and a main gate. It originally, however, had EIGHT. Without having a great understanding of Korean homes, it seems that each building had a different purpose. One for sleeping, one for dining, one for cooking, etc. Not too much different than American homes of the same time period, only these are broken up into different quarters all together.
All five of the hanoks at the museum were meant to show different social status of the individuals who resided in them. Without the entire home there, it was sometimes hard to tell. However, one of the best ways to tell was that those who were extremely upper class were those who had things like shrine rooms, such as this home built by an Emperor for his daughter-in-law:
Throughout the visit there were various things that caught my eye because they were either very interesting/different, or because I have this strange interest in domestic lifestyles after working at the Farms. Some examples:
Korean kitchen, circa 1890. Notice where the fire is stoked! Also the lovely garlic hanging at the front of the photo.
Crocks for pickling cabbage (or pickling anything, really)...aka making Kimchi.
My personal favorite from the day. This machine had a sign that said "Treadmill." What? Exercise? So I broke it down and thought like a Korean writing something in English. It is a mill. The part on the end is like a mortar and pestle. Tread? Ahh, treadle power! You most definitely stand on the end of the machine and sort of bounce up and down to grind whatever (presumably rice) is in the pestle. Treadmill.
This is here because I saw multiple ones and cannot decide what it is. It looked like some sort of spinning wheel, but then it didn't. None of them had signs with names that I could google, either. Input?
This game also did not have a sign giving a name, but this man was quite good. You spin what looks like a large top and then use the pole with a whip to keep it spinning.
All in all I really enjoyed the museum. It was a nice first trip into Seoul to get a piece of Korean culture. What I enjoyed most is seeing the comparison between Victorian era Iowa and Joseon Dynasty Korea. All of the homes fell into the same range of times that LHF covers. Quite a difference, yet at the same time I was able to see many similarities as well.
Next up: Tuesday's visit to the Korean War Memorial.
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