Gyeongju Yangdong Historic Village, Gyeongju, South Korea

I visited Yangdong Village, which is South Korea's largest traditional village, with 160 houses, 54 of which are over 200 years old. It is also one of the two villages included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Historic Villages of Korea (the other one is Hahoe Village in Andong). Both villages were founded in the 14th to 15th centuries. The villages are sheltered by mountains and face out onto a river and open agricultural fields. In the villages are residences of the head families, timber framed houses of clan members, pavilions, study halls, Confucian academies for learning, and one storey mud-walled, thatched-roofed houses, formerly for commoners.

At the entrance of the village is a museum (free admission) where one can learn about the history of the village, its clans, and the existing buildings that have been designated as cultural heritage properties.

I checked out the 22 cultural heritage properties by walking around the village and visiting each (I was given a map when I paid for the admission fee). The hunt for these properties was a workout for these houses were almost always on higher ground, some with steep roads.

Gwangajeong, means "to see the harvest," named such because it was located where one had a view of the plain and river in the distance. It was built around 1500 by a Confucian scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).