Recommended Weekend Getaways From Seoul

Kanghwado Island is South Korea’s fifth largest island, and known not just for its natural beauty, but for also for its historical significance- it used to be an important political base, and the existent monuments include fortresses, temples and ancient walls. It also has an altar believed to have been erected by Tan-gun - the legendary founder of the Korean nation. Along with this are the Buddhist temples, the most famous being the Pomunsa Temple with a Buddha carved on the rocky slope of a mountain and the Chondungsa Temple and a 13th century celadon kiln dating back to the days of the Koryo dynasty. Kanghwado Island is about an hour and a half drive from Seoul.

The Korean Folk Village, a recreation of a traditional Korean Village, is located at a distance of 30 minutes’ drive from Seoul. It’s a compact little village, on which shows, pretty effectively, the regional diversities- in art, architecture, handicrafts and lifestyle of the Koreans. The Folk Village was erected in 1973 and has almost everything representative of Korea- a Buddhist Temple, a Confucian School, a marketplace, a brewery, and lots of artisans’ workshops. In addition, there are performances of dances, music, tightrope walking, and enactments of weddings and funerals- all quite interesting. All in all, the Korean Folk Village is a good place to visit if you’re interested in Korean culture, but don’t have the time, the energy or the money to go traipsing through the entire country.