I HOPE ..

MAKE NO MISTAKE .. I FULLY REALIZE HOW BLESSED AND HOW LUCKY AND HOW FORTUNATE I AM TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AS I DO. THE ENTIRE POINT OF MY WEBSITE HERE IS TO REALIZE MY DESIRE THAT .. IN SOME SMALL WAY .. ONE OF MY POSTS OR ONE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS WILL MAKE ONE PERSON'S DAY JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

TO FEEL GOOD .. DO GOOD !

I HOPE THAT SOMEONE VISITING MY WEBSITE WILL SEE SOMETHING ON IT THAT THEY WILL NOT EVER BE ABLE TO SEE OR TO DO OTHERWISE .. AND THAT THIS EXPERIENCE WILL MAKE THEIR DAY OR THEIR LIFE JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER !


IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH AND ADEQUATE MONEY TO FOLLOW-YOUR-DREAM .. WITH DISCERNMENT .. FIND THE COURAGE AND HAVE THE GUTS TO DO WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO!


TRULY THIS IS MY DOXOLOGY .. MY PRAISE TO GOD!

YOU CAN ALSO VISIT .. http://babakaps.net .. TO SEE MY OTHER WEBSITE.

Sunday 10 March 2019

MAR 10, 19 .. SEOUL SOUTH KOREA .. THE KOREAN FOLK VILLAGE

As I just did on my most recent post of March 9th, I must say to my friends Peter and Lisa : Thank You both for telling me about the Korean Folk Village and then making it possible for me to visit it.

The Korean Folk Village is located South of downtown Seoul in Yongin. You will all get a kick-out-of-this. Well at least I got a kick out of this.

The Seoul, South Korea, greater Metropolitan Area is similar to that of Los Angeles, California, in that one can not tell one city from another city unless perhaps you live there. '' 

In my 'mind's-eye', I was thinking of Yongin as something of a 'quaint' Korean Village. After all we were about to visit a Korean Folk Village weren't we?

I did some 'homework' before we set out for the village.

Here are some numbers:

Seoul, S. Korea : 9.8 million people

Seoul, S. Korea Metro Area : 25.6 million people

Yongin, S. Korea : 910,000 people

Trip Advisor : Restaurants in Yongin : 6,491

So much for Yongin, South Korea being a Village.

Onward to a visit to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, South Korea.

We are approaching the entrance to the Folk Village.




Lisa dropped Peter and I off at the Folk Museum to save us all from the issue of parking their car. 

When I saw the enormous / gigantic packed-parking lot appearing to be almost full I said to Peter : "With all of these cars / tour buses will there be room for us within the Folk Village?" Peter assured me that there would be room for us.

Now, after a long walk from where Lisa dropped Peter and me off, we've arrived at the entrance to the Village.



When I snapped the below photo, I did not focus upon the fact that the fees that I photographed are for groups. 17,000 Korean Won : US $14.96.


Ah the joy of aging! 

"Peter did you pay my admission fee?" 

If you did : Thank You. IF you did not : Thank You.  


Inside we go!




WHOA! 

Peter told me.. 

Peter assured me.. 

That there would be room for us inside the park.


"Wow Peter! You were spot-on! It looks empty in here!"

In my Trip Advisor review of the Village I wrote (in part):

The Korean Folk Village is absolutely enormous. When we arrived, the parking lot itself was enormous. I asked my friends IF we would even be able to get into the Folk Village with so many cars / visitors. They confidently told me that there would be absolutely no problem getting into the Village. They were absolutely correct. The lines to purchase tickets were relatively short and they moved very quickly. The instant we passed through the entryway I was amazed that there were only a moderate number of people visible. So much for there being a crowd. Do seniors get a discount? I am an 82-year old senior and my friends paid for my admission so I don't know.


This size of the Village presents a problem IF you are a senior citizen with some walking restrictions. The good news is that there seemed to be ample places to sit and to rest. But it still requires a lot of walking IF you want to see say 50 to 75% of the Village. In my opinion it is far too large to see it all in one outing. Yes there also seemed to be toilets handy when I needed one.

Below is a photo of a map showing the site. As you look at the below map, see that this is one enormous venue.  


Peter told me that IF the local Korean people dressed-up in traditional attire their admission was free.



IF I saw as many as ten western touristy visitors I would be amazed. The Korean people were out-in-force. They are interested in, and, they honor their ancestors.

Now I'll stop talking so much and I'll show you photos of the Village.



"Amazing Peter! The Village looks empty! Who belongs to all of those cars / tour buses out in that mammoth parking lot?"


Well! At last! A few people. But NO crowding whatsoever!







Patti asked me : "What are the rocks  about?"

I replied : "I haven't a clue!"


Now something really special.

The shop below is a photo / traditional costume attire venue.



As Peter gently but firmly guided me into the above shop he said ..

"Cap. This really means a lot to me. I want to get a photo of the two of us."

Once in awhile .. From time-to-time .. IT happens ..

From time-to-time 'I nail it'. 

And this time : I nailed-it!

Your Captain here did NOT .. DID NOT .. rain on Peter's parade.

Your Captain did NOT .. DID NOT .. say nor did he even imply the following : "Peter I do NOT do these places. They are expensive and they overcharge and .. and .. and ... blah blah blah .."

Nope. As he reads these words the above will be new information to Peter.

And! 

It was a lot of fun indeed.


Now, after the above merriment with Peter and me, we will go further on into the Folk Village.

Below are photos of traditional craftsmen in ancient times.











On Trip Advisor I did note that, after awhile all of the traditional, thatched roof  edifices began to look alike.



Not all of the historic and traditional edifices were thatched roofed.


By the way, I have failed to explain that the large, glazed, earthenware vessels, such as those in the lower right corner of the photo below, are the manner in which traditional Korean Kimchi is fermented.


More Kimchi fermentation vessels are visible on the right side of the below photo.







This bridge and its views were very enjoyable.




A few more formal, non-thatched-roof, temples.







A change-of-scene.




Traditional Buddhist prayer flags.


Let's say goodbye and all of us leave the Korean Folk Village with a little music from a fun marching band.

AND THE BAND PLAYED 'WALTZING MATILDA'




Peter and I hope you enjoyed our tour of the Korean Folk Village.

I'll sign off here as ..

Peter and Cap 

And?

A final post script to the above wonderful adventure, one last THANK YOU PETER for the great day.


4 comments:

  1. Cap- now THAT is a suit of clothes !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tom for looking this Post over. YES indeed! These are some fine 'threads' aren't they. Patti and I are happy you are back safely in Nevada. Smiles .. Cap and Patti

      Delete
  2. As my new-found BFF stated above, he said "thank you Peter for the great day, I would like to reciprocate by saying "thank you Cap for one of the greatest days of my life ! ! ! !" Once again Cap n Patti showed me the correct response...…...when someone asks me about the best times in my life, I should always answer "they are still inside of me." As Bob Hope always sang "thanks for the memories." I would like to add "thanks for your friendship." Love Peter & Lisa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Thanks for the memories" I can just 'hear' Bob Hope singing those words. Yes Peter, it was some outing in that we saw and experienced not one but two great attractions. And how nice to have Lisa along for the adventures. Much joy and THANK YOU for this comment and for your interest My Brother .. Cap

      Delete

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