Gyochon Traditional Village

Gyochon sits beside the Gyeongju city wall ground, on land that held the Silla national academy - hence the name - and its interest is the Choi family, who were wealthy here for some twelve generations and are remembered for the rules they set themselves: do not sit for the highest civil examinations, do not accumulate more than ten thousand seok of rice a year, do not buy land in a famine year, and see that nobody within a hundred li goes hungry. Whether every clause is documented or partly legend, the house is real and can be visited, and the family's descendants gave much of the fortune away in the twentieth century to found a university. Alongside stands the brewery for Gyeongju beopju, a clear rice liquor made by the family and designated an intangible heritage. The quarter has been restored with hanok stays, craft workshops and the reconstructed Woljeonggyo bridge at its edge.

Highlights

• The Choi family house - the compound and its granary.
• The house rules - displayed and explained on site.
• The beopju brewery - the family liquor, still made.
• Woljeonggyo bridge - the reconstructed covered bridge nearby.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Mornings are quiet; the quarter fills with hanbok-rental groups in the afternoon. Woljeonggyo is lit at night.

Good to know

Much of the quarter is recent restoration and it is heavily commercialised - cafes, rentals, souvenir workshops. The Choi house itself is small. Free, so easy to fit in.

Nearby

Woljeonggyo, Cheomseongdae and the Gyeongju National Museum are all within walking distance.

Key facts