Oeam Folk Village, Asan

Thatched cottages and tiled mansions linked by stone-walled lanes climb the foot of Seolhwasan at Oeam, a Joseon-era aristocratic village that is still lived in. Since the village took shape around 500 years ago it has been home to the Yean Yi clan, and both gentry houses and commoners' cottages survive side by side. It was designated National Folklore Cultural Heritage in 2000, and served as a film location for Chihwaseon and Taegukgi.

History: a village named after a pen name

The village is said to have been founded in the 16th century by families of the Kang and Mok clans. During King Myeongjong's reign a member of the Yean Yi clan moved here, and as his descendants flourished and produced notable scholars, the village gradually took on the character of a yangban (gentry) settlement.

Its name comes from the scholar Yi Gan (1677-1727), whose pen name was Oeam. The village came to be called after him, and from the Japanese colonial period onwards the name was written with simpler characters. Being fairly close to the capital, the village kept customs much like those of Hanyang (Seoul). In 2011 the village had 192 residents in 69 households, more than half of them farming. Villagers also keep up local dishes such as bukkumi, a pan-fried rice cake.

What to see

• Gentry houses: Yeongamdaek, Champandaek and Songhwadaek, among others, stand in the upper part of the village, with spacious yards and gardens typical of upper-class Joseon homes. Descendants still live in some, so not all can be entered.
• Thatched houses and stone walls: nearly half the buildings have thatched roofs, which residents renew every year using traditional methods. Stone walls line the lanes between them.
• Waterways and gardens: water from Seolhwasan is channelled through the village and past the house gardens. These water-fed gardens are what make Oeam distinctive.
• Fields and market street: rice paddies spread west of the village, and a market street with food stalls and performances lies near the entrance.

Good to know

• Around the first full moon of the lunar year the village holds rites for its zelkova tree and its jangseung guardian posts, and every October a straw culture festival features traditional weddings and farming life.
• In 2023, a stamp marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Switzerland showed Oeam together with the village of Trub in the canton of Bern.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:00-18:00 in summer and 09:00-17:00 in winter. Open all year, but some facilities such as the folk museum close on Mondays.
• Admission: adults KRW 2,000, teenagers, soldiers and children KRW 1,000. Free for under-eights and over-65s.
• Time needed: a loop of the stone-walled lanes takes 1-2 hours. Tea ceremony and hanji paper crafts are on offer, as are hanok homestays.
• Etiquette: people really live here. Do not enter houses with closed gates, and ask before photographing residents.
• Combine with: Hyeonchungsa Shrine, about 8 km to the north, for a day in Asan.