day 33: the folk village pleasantries

The Amish might still live in the 1800s, but the koreans have found a way to outdo them too. This morning we went to a traditional folk village in Suwon. Kim Young and her friend Grace picked me up and we took the hour drive in fond memories of california traffic.

there was a large castle like wall that surrounded the village and all of the people were wearing traditional clothing. there was pottery, bamboo toys, oriental fans, and pretty much anything you could think of. they grow all of their own food. they raise animals. they even have oxen to pull, plow, and grind down grains. the picture to the left is of a korean guy selling things that he had made out of bamboo/wood/weeds. i thought it was funny that he didn't have any outer walls, but still had a modern door between rooms.

Kim Young and Grace had seen this place more than they could
remember (Grace grew up next to the village) so keeping their attention was a toughy. however, when it came to jumping on the see-saw, shooting archery, making pottery, swinging, seeing the calligrapher write words in chinese, or eating buckwheat noodles, they were all up for it. (we had this noodle soup that was in cold water/vinegar and cayenne pepper. spicy, delicious, and refreshing!)

Grace and Kim Young pretty much threw their towels in after a couple of hours, and we just drove around the wall and other sites. it was funny because they planned on looking at a lot of things, but you had to get out of the car. they didn't want to do that since it was hot, so we would drive up to the entrance, they would tell me what was behind the wall, or on top of the mountain, or whatever, and then we would drive to the next site. there is nothing like the korean pleasantries in life!