UNESCO Inscribes Korea’s 10th Site On World Heritage List - Historic Villages Of Korea: Hahoe And Yangdong
Date08/09/2010
Hit10736
Korea’s list
of UNESCO heritages continues to grow with the ‘Historic Villages of Korea:
Hahoe and Yangdong' being the 10th site to be inscribed on the world cultural
heritage list. Their location is ideal to combine with a trip to Gyeongju
historic area known as the ‘museum without walls’. Gyeongju is now being offered
as a ‘City tour on the KTX’ (high speed rail service from Seoul) through US
Travel based in Korea www.koreatour.us
Founded in the 14th-15th
centuries, Hahoe and Yangdong are seen as the two most representative historic
clan villages in the Republic of Korea. Their layout and location - sheltered by
forested mountains and facing out onto a river and open agricultural fields –
reflect the distinctive aristocratic Confucian culture of the early part of the
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The villages were located to provide both physical
and spiritual nourishment from their surrounding landscapes. They include
residences of the head families, together with substantial timber framed houses
of other clan members, also pavilions, study halls, Confucian academies for
learning, and clusters of one story mud-walled, thatched-roofed houses, formerly
for commoners. The landscapes of mountains, trees and water around the village,
framed in views from pavilions and retreats, were celebrated for their beauty by
17th and 18th century poets.