I visited this WHS in April 2017. In Seoul I caught the Line 2 subway to Kangbyun Station. From Exit 3, I headed to the East Seoul Bus Terminal and bought an intercity bus (Tago) to Andong for 17100 won (2hrs 40mins) instead of a Korail train ticket which strangely enough takes longer (3hrs 15mins) and costs around 24000 won. Arriving quite late in the afternoon and travelling with luggages, we decided to catch a 30 minute taxi instead of waiting for the 50 minute bus ride to Hahoe and having to walk to our hanok. This way we also avoided paying the 3000 won entrance fee since we were sleeping there and got there in time for a splendid sunset. For dinner we had the local speciality, Andong-jjimdak (steamed chicken and glass noodles with various vegetables marinated in a ganjang based sauce) and a shot of Cho Ok Hwa folk liquor or Andong soju.

Hahoe Folk Village is made up of 9 tile-roofed noble houses or hanoks and 29 thatched cottages. To be able to beat the day tour buses (even on weekdays!) and to experience the old hanok interiors, we booked in advance to stay at the largest hanok and registered cultural heritage, Bukchondaek, built by the provincial governor Ryu Doseong in 1862 and owned by the same family ever since. We had the privilege not only to eat, sleep and stay inside the hanok but also to have a private tour inside the oldest part of the hanok by the owner himself.

The interior furniture and items are well kept and it felt as if we were seeing items which wouldn't be out of place inside a top history museum but which were still kept in their original place and state. There's an old tree which grew with the same S shape of the Nakdong River, for which the village of Hahoe is named. My favourite item was the folk hat container and my favourite room was the Bukchonyugeo with heated wooden ongol floors and 12 panel windows which enables the hall to be converted in 4 separate rooms. It reminded me a bit of the great Rietveld Schroeder House in Utrecht. Needless to say, we would have missed all this hadn't we stayed overnight as only the courtyard is visible from the main entrance for non-guests.

Early in the morning before breakfast we explored the small sleepy town. Apart from "our" hanok, we visited the head house of the Musi family, the traditional houses of Chiamgotaek and Okyenjeongsa, the head house of the Gyeongdang Family and Samsindang, a 600 year old zelkova tree which is worshipped as a village spirit. On the 15th of January each year, villagers perform a ritual here to pray for peace in the village. Close to the straw thatched houses is a roof-tiled church too. There are 2 small UNESCO marble markers at the lane of cherry trees just next to the ferry point and a bigger UNESCO stone marker just next to the tourist information before entering Hahoe proper.

At around noon we visited the Mask Museum and carefully read the meaning of the different masked dance drama scenes. This came in handy at 1pm as we headed towards the Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori theatre to see the masked drama performance (in Korean).

Overall we really enjoyed our visit especially thanks to our Hanok stay and private tour. Before leaving, we ended our visit in style with a panoramic view of Hahoe (photo) from the 64m high Buyongdae Cliff (after a short uphill hike from the Hwacheon Seowon).