First published: 18/11/16.

Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies (Inscribed)

Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies by Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Byeongsan Seowon - easily located close to Hahoe Folk Village

Site visited in November, 2016. There are in fact 3 daily buses to Byeongsan from Andong. First morning bus (7.50 from nearby Andong Train Station is the most convenient if you want to see the village, it is the same bus that connects Andong with Hahoe, 46) it goes to Hahoe, then to Byeongsan Seowon and returns to Hahoe and heads to Andong.

Byeongsan Seowon itself looks recently restored- well maintained, covers relatively small area. All the buildings are described in Korean as well as in English (names and short explanation), easily visited, to see the building - half an hour should be enough, in fact the style of the buildings is similar to other Korean monuments. Don't miss the 400 years old restroom (having in mind the smell - it is still in use).

Between two sites (Byeongsan and Hahoe) there is a convenient hiking path - 4 km - be prepared to at least one hour walk as it is mountainous although on a map it looks straight forward. The road is well marked, although only in Korean. The hike is obvious from Byeongsan - the only option apart from returning the road that bus goes, although it is not shown on Google Maps nor described in Lonely Planet guidebook.

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