I recently had the pleasure of visiting the delightful city of Andong, South Korea. It is without a doubt my favorite city in Korea so far (besides Daegu, obviously.) There isn't a single thing about Andong that I didn't find either beautiful or inspiring...and ususally it was both.
Most of the "main attractions" in Andong are located about an hour outside the city itself. Some of the places we had planned on seeing were located in opposite directions from each other, so we had to make some hard choices since there definitely wouldn't be enough time to see everything in one day.
Which was fine with me, seeing as it gave me an excuse to visit the city again.
The two main attractions we settled on for this trip were the Hahoe Folk Village of Andong and the Wolyeonggyo Bridge. We also stumbled on some smaller attractions that were pretty great as well.
Hahoe Folk Village
The Hahoe Folk Village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has been listed as such since 2010. It is about 15 miles outside the city of Andong and costs a total of $4 to enter. Built over 600 years ago, the Hahoe Folk Village is like an open-air museum. It was built in the tradional Korean style with both tile and thatched roofs (tile for the aristocrats and thatch for the commoners) and it was designed in the shape of a lotus flower. It has been maintained to this day and many people still live in the village. It's important to be respectful of them and their homes as you walk around.
At Hahoe Folk Village, many important folk traditions and traditional styles of architechture are kept alive. It was a privelege to see such an in-depth look of this part of Korean history.
It was MUCH larger than I had anticipated and we could have easily spent an entire day there. Besides the actual village, there was a mask museum, a tranquil pine forest, and souvenir shops and resturants filled with traditional handmade keepsakes and food.
It really felt like stepping back in time. Every time I turned a corner I could picture walking down that same street 600 years ago. It's a testament to how well they have preserved the orignial feel of the village.
The weather was near perfect for our visit. The ONLY thing I wish there had been was more information to read as we walked around. Every so often there would be a sign in front of a house or a tree, but it was all in Korean. This made it a little harder to engage with what I was seeing.
But that was like, literally the only downside.
As we continued to walk around the village, we turned a random corner and saw this:
You guys. What?!
For real, I literally had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw this gorgeous field of flowers. Add the Hanok village as a backdrop, and it was legitimately stunning. In my opinion, Korea has an unrivaled ability to showcase nature at its best.
Wolyeonggyo Bridge
As amazing as the Hahoe Folk Village was, I think my favorite stop of the day was the Wolyeonggyo Bridge. (FYI, there are like 4 different ways to spell the name of this bridge. If you look it up and want to make sure you have the right bridge, I recommend also putting "Andong" in your search criteria.)
The Wolyeonggyo Bridge is the longest pedestrian-only bridge in South Korea. There is a pavillion in the middle where you can sit and enjoy the gorgeous views of the Nakdong River and sometimes you can even see downtown Andong on a clear day. The name means "Moonlight Bridge", and while it's beautiful during the day, it is absolutely magical at night.
Wolyeonggyo Bridge is also a fountain bridge. Three times a day (12:30, 18:30, 20:30), water flows from the bridge and creates a fountain show. You can watch it from the shore or you can see it from the bridge itself.
I would highly recommend being on the bridge itself during the fountain show. It was amazing!
As the sunlight continued to fade, the bridge was lit up by the most beautiful collection of lights. It lent a magical and romantic feel to the whole area.
Since the name of the bridge translates to "Moonlight Bridge", there are these tiny moon boats available to rent and paddle around the river. As it gets darker, the little cresent shaped moon boats light up as well. It created such a whimiscal atmosphere. I will definitely be on the water in one of those boats next time I visit.
Along the banks of the Nakdong River is a river walk that holds a few more surprising delights for visitors to Andong. In my research prior to visiting Andong, I did not see any of these areas online, so stumbling across them was icing on the rather wonderful cake that had been my visit to Andong so far.
First up was this amazing "I Love Andong" sign. The only reason we found it is that we spotted the light while we were standing on the bridge. It was roughly a 10 min walk once we left the bridge, and it was TOTALLY worth it.
A little further past that sign was another bridge that had rainbow lights all along the sides.
We walked all along the beautifully lit river walk between the two bridges just taking in how amazing this whole place was. Once the sun set, I felt like I had stepped through a portal to another world. It was magical and I can't wait to go back.
Before I go, I want to give a special shout out to the people of Andong. We met SO MANY nice people in Andong. Random people who approached us and wanted to talk to us, or who offered to take pictures for us...it was really amazing. It was one of the highlights of the trip to be sure.
I honestly can't oversell this city. If you ever get the chance to visit...do it.
I promise you won't regret it.
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