We spent over an hour at Bulguksa Temple, then headed off to a lunch stop at our own expense. Most of the guests lunched at a Korean restaurant, while we pigged out at Burger King: a dining option that was simply more appealing to our kids!
Our next stop was the Gyochon Traditional Village, which was a short 20 minute away by our coach. It was probably at this time that the limits of our guided experience was starting to show: as in we only got very cursory information about the village and the habits of the rich family clan who lived in some of the houses, before we were left to wander the compound on our own. Truth to tell: we didn’t find this village particularly interesting, since aside from the physical structures of the residences themselves, there was little actual historical artifact or information boards for us to understand each exhibit.
The village had a few modern day cafes and shops. Like Bulguksa Temple, there were few other visitors about.We visited one of the houses owned by a family clan, and were informed of the gender residence arrangements of the time, and also how houses were heated. The houses we saw were largely shells though: there was little evidence or exhibits to show how people actually lived, and the daily household items they used. Quite different from the village living museums we’ve seen in Japan.There was no admission charge to visit the village, and the place is pretty public.We got a reasonably clear day again for pictures.Most of our time in this part of the village was guided, and centered around the house in these pictures. When we had our free time, most of the group made a beeline for the much more interesting Woljeong Bridge that is right beside this village.
Much of the village area has wide enough streets for vehicles to pass through, though cars were driving very slowly and watchful of human pedestrians sharing the same street.
The village is adjacent to Woljeong Bridge, and the bridge was a much more interesting structure. The bridge was built around more than a thousand years ago, then burnt down, then finally rebuilt in April 2018 to become the largest wooden bridge in Korea. The bridge is pretty impressive in good light, but we returned in the evening to see the bridge lit up, and it was a stunning.
There is a stone bridge that is built from stone slabs put into the stream, and about 80 meters away from the Woljeong bridge. This is the vantage point visitors will go to to get those iconic pictures of Woljeong bridge. Not to worry: it’s pretty safe to traverse across, even in the evening when we returned to look at the bridge after the sun had set.
Two watch towers sit on either side of the bridge.There are numerous places to take pictures of the bridge, e.g. from either side of the stream to which the bridge sits over.This picture is taken from the stone slab bridge that’s about 150 meters from Woljeong Bridge. The stone slabs are illuminated at night to ensure visitors don’t miss their steps.Woljeong Bridge from the other side of the stream.Returning to visit the bridge at about 6PM. Sun sets early in South Korea at this time of the year.I reckon the bridge would have looked even more stunning at sunset and golden hour. At 6PM, it was basically pitch dark already.
