Anyeong, Andong!

Howdy readers!
It is amazing how fast time slips through our fingers. The phrase “Time flies when you’re having fun” should be altered to “Time flies when you’re having fun, or in pandemic restrictions”.
Today, I want to share with you a trip I took with friends in June.

June Weekend trip to Andong

Saturday, day 1: My friends and I began our trip with a stop at McDonald’s for breakfast. We all agreed that we rarely ate McDonalds back home, and craving Mc’y D’s was out of character. We jumped into our trusty Mercedes steed, and drove an hour and a half northeast of Daegu, to the city of Andong.

Andong Hahoe Village (안동 하회마을)

The first destination of our trip was to the Andong Hahoe Village, with special recognitions as both a National Folklore Cultural Heritage and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It remains an active, well preserved, Korean same-clan village. The Ryu clan has resided in, and maintained control of, this village since the 16^th century. This clan boasts important royal, political and spiritual roles in its long history.

For just ₩5,000 (about $5), one can roam the village all day long.

My friends and I chose to splurge, and rent a golf cart to drive through the village. We even convinced the golf cart company to allow us 2 hours, rather than 1.5 hours. We paid a whopping ₩30,000 (approx. $30) for our 2 hours, and it was worth it. As the village is quite large, and the summer weather is hot and very humid (I promise it is at least as bad as Florida, if not worse!), driving about in a golf cart made seeing the various styles of hanoks (한옥 -traditional Korean houses), rice fields, and Buyongdae Cliff, much easier –not to mention, much more fun!

We also visited the Traditional Mask Museum, just at the entrance of the village, and were impressed with the amount of masks represented from around the world.

I hope to return to the village for the International Andong Mask Dance Festival once Coronavirus is under control. 

After exploring Hahoe Village, we made our way to our hotel, which was in Andong city’s downtown. The drive from village to downtown Andong took roughly 40 minutes.

Downtown Andong

We stayed in a boutique hotel, and paid for a party room, to give us more space. It was a great hotel, and located close to everything we wanted to see in the city (ie FOOD).
Our evening was spent walking along the city streets to find Jjimdak (찜닭) Street. 

Jjimdak is a delicious Korean dish that originated in Andong. It is braised chicken and vegetables in a sweet, spicy, savory sauce. If you see this on a Korean restaurant menu, I highly recommend you try it!
We wanted boneless chicken for our meal, since we all agreed we do not enjoy the messy business of eating saucy bone-in meats. Our search proved difficult, as every restaurant said this didn’t exist on the street, but we turned the corner and found success!
We ordered our boneless chicken jjimdak, as well as beer and the famous Andong soju (소주 – Korean rice-based alcohol) which contained 40% alcohol. We drank the bottle, but all agreed we wanted our regular soju to continue the evening. It was strong, and the taste was harsh – although not as throat-burning as our trusty moonshines back home!
Just as we finished our scrumptious meal, we heard the rhythmic banging of a drum coming towards us. We rushed out the door, and there was a traditional masks procession passing right in front of us. There were 15-20 actors dressed in traditional male and female hanboks wearing traditional wooden masks. Some played drums, others, pranced, and most walked as they walked past onlookers in the market. At the end of the procession, one performer came up to me saying “셀카 셀카”, meaning “selfie selfie”. So naturally, a selfie did I take. We followed them to their stage, where they performed a play.

We ended our evening relaxing on the balcony of our hotel room, enjoying beer and soju, games and good conversation.

Sunday, Day 2: If you know me, you know I am an early riser. This is a blessing and a curse, for many reasons. However, when on trips, this can prove a blessing, as I tend to be more energetic and motivated in the mornings. *Thanks Mama and Papa!*
I was up-and-at’em around 6 in the morning. I knew my friends would be sleeping until late morning, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful, cool morning, to go walk and explore whatever I could. I had found some nearby sites to start my journey.

Imcheonggak (임청각)

After walking 15 minutes, I arrived at the Imcheonggak (임청각) – a large traditional hanok estate belonging to the Goseong Yi clan for over 500 years. It was built at the base of Yeongnam Mountain, overlooking the Nakdonggang River. During the Japanese colonization of Korea between 1910 and 1945, the Japanese built a railroad through the front of the Yi property. *Apparently, you can stay overnight in the hanok for a traditional experience.

Beopheungsa Seven-Story Pagoda (법흥사지 칠층전탑)

I continued just 2 minutes along the same road, and came to the Beopheungsa Seven-Story Pagoda (법흥사지 칠층전탑). The pagoda was built of clay bricks, and rebuilt only a few years ago – 1487 (according to records) in front of the Beopheungsa Temple (7^th-10^th century), which is no longer. Behind the pagoda you can see additional buildings belonging to the Geoseon Yi (Lee) family original estate.

Andong Folk Village (안동민속촌)

I continued along the dirt path, and crossed the dam, to the other side of the river. At this point, I was able to enjoy the cool – yet increasingly more humid – weather, on a well-planned nature path that lead along the river bank. I strolled along the path for 30 or 40 minutes, arriving at the Andong Folk Village (안동민속촌) . Surprisingly, I cannot find any information (in English) regarding this folk village, but it is lovely, and free!

I saw that one friend was finally awake, it was almost 9:30, and I was getting hot. So, I walked across the Wolyeonggyo Bridge (월영교), a walking bridge, and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.

Once everyone was awake and ready to roll, we retraced my morning steps (with the car) and I enjoyed the sites a second time around. We headed back towards Daegu mid-afternoon.
It was a great trip, and I will definitely return to explore more of the surrounding areas, as there is much more history to see!

Summer vacation post will come soon! As always, thank you for exploring with me!