Martin Uden

Hahoe remembers HM Queen Elizabeth

In April 1999, Her Majesty’s birthday fell during her State Visit to Korea, and on that day, she visited the traditional Korean village of Hahoe, which is close to the city of Andong.  The villagers are enormously grateful for this visit since it propelled their small village (population a little over 300) into something of an international spotlight.  Since 1999, over 10 million tourists have visited Hahoe, giving it some real prosperity at a time when many villages – and Hahoe itself – find it hard to retain their younger generations, with smaller family sizes and the attractions of urban life. 

I had never been to Hahoe before and I was delighted to be invited to attend the tenth anniversary celebrations of the visit last week.  Hahoe’s distance from Seoul is no doubt part of the reason why it has kept its character, and it was almost a four-hour trip by train and car to get there: but well worth it.  A really charming place although work has clearly been done to accommodate the touristic influx.  But unlike most folk villages in Korea, this is not an artificial creation, but owes its continued existence in part to its remoteness, and in part to the fact that the Ryu clan regard it as their ancestral home, and that the Ryus are determined to keep it as their home.   As was explained to me, they don’t keep their houses in the traditional way for tourists’ benefit, but because that’s the way they always have.

So a lovely day, but sadly for me I had to go straight to hospital when I got back to Seoul. I’d been in quite some discomfort, especially sitting on the floor over lunch, and apparently I am currently having an attack of bursitis in my hip.  Since the life of a diplomat involves not just a lot of sitting at a desk, but also sitting at formal meals, speeches and the like, I hope it clears up quickly…

Posted at 17:01 27 April 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]