14 December 2013
The National Folk Museum of Korea houses quite a few interesting exhibits about life and culture in South Korea. The museum is next to the Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul and admission is free (remember, it is closed on Tuesdays).
It is quite an eye-catching building with the traditional Korean architecture towering above the pretty park (which, when we went, was also covered in a thick layer of white snow).
We chose to do a guided English tour (at 14.30) with a Korean guide and to watch a (free) traditional music performance that was being hosted at the museum auditorium. It is definitely worth a visit, especially with its convenient proximity to the Gyeongbok palace and Insadong for touristy sightseers.
Our guide at the museum was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed her quirky take on the Korean life and culture! Her English name was Hillary and she chatted away to us about the museum where she has been a volunteer English guide since she was a university student. She loves the gig so much that she still continues her volunteering every Saturday, because she now works during the week. Her hope is that this guide work will help her to improve her English even more and also allow her to meet foreigners (waegooks) from all countries of the world.
Outside the museum are the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals with birth years engraved so you can find your own. Not that we are superstitious at all, but it was fun to see the details. I’m a Tiger (ferocious and stubborn) and he’s a Rat (highly intelligent and sneaky) – sounds about right!
Be sure to check out the little street of restaurants across the road from the museum, we found such a cute one in a little alleyway. The lunch cafe is situated inside an old Korean house converted into a little eating spot called ‘Rice’ (밥).
