Three Hours by KTX From Seoul, a Walk Into 600-Year-Old Joseon: Andong's Hahoe Village

On a hill where the Nakdong River curls around the village in a lazy S-shape, Andong's Hahoe Village still looks the way it did 600 years ago, when Joseon-era scholars called it home. Walking its lanes of tiled-roof and thatched houses brings a quiet that downtown Seoul never offers. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010, the village is often recommended as a one-day escape for travelers who want to see something beyond Seoul.

At a glance: from Seoul Station, the KTX-Eum train to Andong Station takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and a local bus (such as route 210) from Andong Station to Hahoe Village adds roughly 30 more minutes, for a total travel time of about 3 hours. Admission is 5,000 won for adults, 2,500 won for teenagers, and 1,500 won for children, with free entry for visitors aged 6 and under or 65 and over. The village is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the warmer months (April-September) and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the colder months (October-March), with no closing days year-round. Walking through the whole village typically takes one to one-and-a-half hours. The address is 186 Jeonseo-ro, Pungcheon-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

Hahoe is a clan village of the Pungsan Ryu family, where roughly 300 traditional houses, including the noble residences Chunghyodang and Yangjindang from the Joseon era, remain largely as they were built. In 2010 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list together with Gyeongju's Yangdong Village, under the title 'Historic Villages of Korea.' Because the village is still home to real residents, travelers who book a stay in a traditional hanok can wake up to morning sunlight falling across a tiled courtyard.

The village's signature experience is the Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori, the mask dance famous for producing the iconic 'Hahoe mask.' Designated a National Intangible Heritage, the performance pokes satirical fun at yangban aristocrats, scholars and other stock characters, and is staged regularly at a theater by the village's training hall. Shows usually start around 2 p.m. and are free to watch, though the performance days change with the season, so it is worth checking that week's schedule on the preservation society's or Andong's official tourism website before visiting.

A day trip works, but staying overnight leaves time for a quiet evening walk through Mansongjeong, the pine grove along the riverbank, or a night's rest inside a centuries-old hanok. Moving at a pace completely different from Seoul's high-rises, Hahoe Village reveals another face of Korea that many travelers never get to see.