Andong holds onto tradition harder than almost anywhere else in Korea, built around Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage clan village still lived in today.
Highlights
- Hahoe Folk Village, laid out along a bend in the Nakdong River, with traditional hanok houses arranged according to Confucian principles and lived in for over 600 years.
- A daily mask dance performance (Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori) near the village, one of Korea's most distinctive folk traditions.
- The Hahoe Mask Museum, covering the history behind the dance and its masks.
- Andong jjimdak, a soy-and-vegetable braised chicken dish the city is known for.
Getting there
KTX to Andong Station takes about 3 hours from Seoul, then local bus #46 to Hahoe Village (about 50 minutes). By express bus from Dong Seoul Terminal, it's roughly 3.5 hours to Andong, with the same bus transfer to the village.
How long
The village itself can be seen in half a day, but staying overnight in one of Hahoe's hanok guesthouses — simple to fairly comfortable — is generally considered the best way to experience it, once the day-trip crowds are gone.