The Jeju Folk Village is situated on the outskirts of Pyeoson, close to the island’s longest beach. There are around 100 buildings and in excess of 8,000 cultural artifacts here, many moved from their original locations throughout the island, showing Jeju as it looked in the late 19th century.
The reconstructed settlements cover all the main aspects of island life – an agricultural hill village, mountain community, traditional market place, fishing village, provincial government offices, and houses and shrines from a Shaman community. Among the more interesting buildings – some of which are over 200 years old - are a Confucian school, a prison for exiles from the mainland, a Chinese Medicine shop, a blacksmith’s and a house belonging to one of Jeju’s community of female divers. Each property is furnished with period artifacts, outside yards full of local livestock, and implements such as stone mills and charcoal furnaces circled by walls made of black volcanic rock. The wooden gates at the entrance to the buildings are also very interesting – the islanders developed a system for communicating their whereabouts to visitors, changing the position of the three poles across the frame of the gate to indicate if they were at home or not.
The Folk Village also aims to teach its visitors about the island’s traditional culture and crafts, to which end there are exhibits of farming and fishing tools, performances of plays and mask dances, and workshops for woodcrafts, bamboo weaving, stone products, and calligraphy. You can buy many of the items produced here in the souvenir shop. There are also several restaurants, a park with many rare species of native trees and flora, and an area where visitors can ride the unique breed of Jeju pony.
Typically, while the mainland was suffering from its worst drought in forty years, it rained buckets the morning I visited Pyeoson, leaving the beach deserted, turning the Folk Village’s paths into patches of slippery mud between huge puddles of water, and generally making my time here much less enjoyable than it might otherwise have been. Nevertheless, the Jeju Folk Village is an extremely pleasant way to pass a few hours on your way around the island. There are regular bus services to Pyeoson from both Jeju City and Seogwipo. The Folk Village is signposted from both the coastal road and the town centre.