Hahoe and Yangdong are known and advertised as villages with a lot to them - they're clan villages that have been perfectly preserved to demonstrate rural life over 5 centuries of habitation and growth; "in their siting, planning, and building traditions, the two villages are an exceptional testimony to the Confucianism of the Joseon dynasty." Thus, the divisions of the historic houses into servants', women's, and men's quarters, as well as the layout of the villages with houses of the clan leaders behind the hills while the houses of the lower class are closer to the entrance, all of these principles in practice are things I kept in mind to observe as I made my way towards Yangdong in June 2023. However, after my visit, I would say the best way to explore this village and have the most enjoyable experience there is by wandering around aimlessly, enjoying the historical atmosphere and the cool countryside air. Yangdong is a place to get lost in, and I wish I had the luxury of time to do just that, but alas, I had a bus to catch to Busan that night. Nevertheless, I got my fair share of wandering while also getting to tour some of the most important sites.

Actually, my visit to the Yangdong portion of the World Heritage Site started with Oksan Seowon, which I review in the Seowon page. After that, the same bus #203 took me to Yangdong in about 15 minutes (this is around 45 minutes from Gyeongju bus station). The kind guard / traffic officer at the Yangdong parking lot told us the next bus would arrive in about 2 hours (17:00) and to be there 10 minutes before if we wanted to catch it. This gave me under 2 hours to explore the village, so I set off alone to hike the hilly terrain at the best pace I could muster as soon as I bought my ticket. I'll say this: if you're fairly fit and were to make no navigational mistakes, you could hit all 4 major historic houses and the famous Simsujeong Pavilion in under an hour. The issue with that is that the village is not easy to navigate, and the map I was using, while showing a good approximation of the houses' locations, did not give me a realistic perception of the winding paths around the village. Along with that, I would not say these historic houses are necessarily the must-sees of the village, other than the Songcheom Head House at the very back of the village for historic reasons - this is the oldest one, built in 1459, the house of Son So (the clan's and the village's founder), and the birthplace of some of the clan's greatest figureheads. The signs to this house may actually refer to it by different names, but it is the only head house in the village, so do follow them; I made the mistake of not doing so and ended up having to run up the hill to see it in time to catch my bus back to Gyeongju. Gwangajeong and Mucheomdang Houses are also quite nice, with Gwangajeong being the closest to the village entrance and visible on top of the first hill, but I'll admit once you've seen one house, you aren't missing much from the others, especially with the lack of artifacts and furniture inside. For that reason, I missed Hyangdan House since I couldn't find it in time. Perhaps Oksan Seowon actually is the single most impressive structure in Yangdong 😂

Besides, my favorite memories of the village were strolling down the path, not quite sure where I was headed but taking in the beautiful surroundings. As a side note, I loved the beautiful walls that gracefully enclosed some of the houses and pavilions. Just as photogenic as the main historic wooden houses are the countless inhabited ones with straw roofs. These have normal modern-day amenities: antennae for TV/internet, tractors, refrigerators, and tools. I spotted one house selling milk, one resident coming back from a day in the rice fields. This is a living village, not one stuck in the early Joseon Dynasty, but one that has kept its authentic atmosphere and aesthetic without burdening its residents that maintain it to this day. I think that does make it worthy of being a World Heritage Site.