Yeongyang Traditional Hanok Doodle Village
Looking for a relaxing weekend – off the beaten track, away from the overload of tourists? Then Yeongyang Traditional Hanok Doodle Village is the perfect place to go. 두들마을 (Doodle Village), which literally means ‘village on a hill’ is located on the east of Andong.
Yeongyang Traditional Hanok Doodle Village was built in 1640 when Lee Sim-yeong used this village as and escape place during the 2nd Manchu invasion in Korea. After the invasion his descendants continued to live here and expanded the village. This Hanok village includes many cultural heritages like houses and the memorial stone for Madam Jang’s cookbook ; the first cookbook written by a woman in East Asia. Since 1994, the village is classified as a cultural village.
We arrived on a Saturday evening around 9 o’clock and went straight to our Hanok room as it was way too cold to stay outside (4°C). It was my first time staying in a Traditional Hanok, so it was really surprising that the room was so nice and warm. We shared our room with our French friends Marie & Guillaume. The room had it’s own bathroom, amazing floor heating and a tv. No wifi in the rooms but other parts of the village had wifi.
In the morning we woke up quite early for a traditional Korean breakfast. Seaweed soup, rice, mackerel and side dishes. It can’t get more traditional than this. The owner of the restaurant was super kind, like a real Korean mother.
After breakfast we had our first experience; rice cake making! Like I mentioned before, Madame Jang who used to live in this traditional village wrote a cookbook in Korea, which was the first cookbook written by a woman in East Asia. The village is still trying to preserve her legacy and recipes by offering cooking classes and Korean dining. There is a massive kitchen in one of the buildings that can at least hold 40 people.
The rice cake you will learn to make is quite different from the standard Korean rice cakes you can buy in the traditional markets. It is made by steaming rice flower topped off with pine nuts.
We finished off our fantastic stay at the Yeongyang Traditional Hanok Doodle Village with a traditional lunch, the way Madame Jang herself used to make it. It was a feast, a food overload, so delicious and healthy!
You can definitely spend a couple of days in this village to relax and enjoy the natural scenery. Take you time to go for a walk or bike trip. You will feel so much better when going back to work or to the busy city. Personally I love to sit down for a quick sketch, I’ve been trying to make this my habit. What do you think?
From Dong Seoul bus terminal you can take the express bus to Yeongyang, this will take around 4u30 and should cost approximately 20 000 won or you can take an express bus from Andong which should only take an hour. From Yeongyang bus terminal you can take a direct bus (감천-주남초교입구) towards the Yeongyang Traditional Hanok Doodle Village. Get off at the bus stop 진막골 (Jin Maggol) from there it is just a 10 minute walk to the village entrance.
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Really lovely article. I love watching Korean movies and would like to visit someday..
I love these traditional experiences! Sounds like a great place to spend a few days or to get out to for a weekend! Would also like to know how to make the Korean rice cakes! Jealous…
I love every bit of korea and I’m always glad to read about the country and its culture. I’m glad I read about the Hanok Traditional Doodle Village and that it offers the same receive as the great Madam Jung. I’d add this to my Korea to visit. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. And what a nice way to spend the evening, your sketch looks good.
Absolutely stunning. And the food? I could eat it for days.
Visiting and exploring this village seems to offer an unforgettable experience, Maria. Plus, learning how to be a rice cake must be awesome. What did you like best in this village?
I loved staying in a Hanok. It was really warm and cozy inside the room. Heated floors are awesome 😀
Nice insight into an unusual Korean destination and experience 🙂
The traditional experience that you got at hanok village really looks very impressive. This way, you learn a lot about the traditions and culture of the place is a very short time. I would myself like to try it out
I absolutely love staying at traditional villages and this is adorable! I like the whole authentic feel and I would love to have a cooking class. I think it’s cool that Madam Jang was the first woman in Asia to write a cookbook and that’s definitely a legacy to be proud of!
Looks amazing…seems like a warm place…must be a great experience!
My spouse and I went over here from a different page and thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to looking over your web page repeatedly.
Ohh seaweed soup! This takes me back to my Korean Air flight to Europe a few years back ha! After reading your post I feel inspired to spend longer in SK and explore some more, especially the traditional houses and try out the local foods!
Hey! I was looking at the website and I didn’t really see the rice cake making experience… I was wondering if you could tell me what it’s called or provide a link for the experience on their website? Thanks for the help!
The experience is called ‘making rice cakes’ or 떡 만들기. I can’t seem to find that specific program on their website, it would be better to contact them by e-mail or phone (054-682-7764).
Thanks so much! You’re blog is great and I’ll be checking it out more often 😀
Actually I found their second website which might be more useful for you.
http://www.yyg.go.kr/dudle/
Here you can book accommodation and find their different experiences.
Thanks so much 😀 I appreciate it!
Is this near the Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park?
This is in the same city, but the Doodle village lies south of Yeongyang and the Eco Park lies North of Yeongyang. By public transport it would take 2 h, by car 1 h.