Namsangol Hanok Village

The computer teacher at my school and I have been conducting language exchanges for the past couple months. We practice speaking English and then she teaches me baby Korean. Instead of meeting for coffee after school as we have been doing, we decided to have a traditional Korean experience on Sunday. Neither of us had been to 남산골한옥마을. The place is super touristy but really fun. You can play Korean games, participate in a tea ceremony, and watch 농악 (the farmers’ dance) as well as other performances. But! Best of all! You can wear 한복 for 40 minutes for a mere 10K won. We were quite the sight—a blonde foreigner and a young Korean woman running (more like tottering) around the folk village in brightly colored faux-silk.

Before: 

After:

See LOTS more after the jump…

This game was hard. 

She mocked my lack of skill and then did worse than me. So there.

Apparently we just missed a traditional Korean style wedding.

It’s not Korea without kimchi pots.

We did a lot of nervous laughing due to all the stares.

Green tea ceremony

I was interviewed about five times by kids on a field trip who needed to practice their English with a foreigner. This group was particularly sweet. I was also asked on a date by a very bold 16-year-old. 

Tea house

Our dresser, Ding Ping, was adorable.

Ta-da! Hanbok is not great for tall women with big boobs. Oh well.

LOL at the dad and kid in the background. 

SO TRADITIONAL

Ankle socks and hanboks!

Hyeme takes a go on the treadmill.

Twirling is hard when you have on shoes three sizes too small.

We are so fancy.