Namsangol Hanok Village

Namsangol is not a village that stood here. Five hanok were dismantled elsewhere in Seoul, where redevelopment would have taken them, and rebuilt on the north slope below Namsan in the 1990s around a landscaped garden with a pond and pavilion. The houses were chosen to show different ranks: one belonged to a military official, one to the family of Queen Sunjeonghyo's parents, one to a carpenter who worked on the palaces. Each is furnished for its class rather than left empty. The grounds also hold a traditional garden, a performance stage used for music and craft demonstrations, and - under the plaza - a time capsule buried in 1994 for Seoul's six-hundredth anniversary, to be opened in 2394. It is free, central, small, and it works as a quiet hour between Chungmuro and the Namsan cable car rather than as a substitute for a real hanok quarter.

What you actually see

• The five relocated houses - furnished by the rank of their owners.
• The garden and pond - the landscaped grounds with a pavilion.
• The performance stage - music and craft demonstrations in season.
• The time capsule plaza - buried 1994, to open in 2394.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Weekday mornings are quiet. Craft and music programmes run mostly at weekends - check the schedule if that is the draw.

Honest expectations

The houses were moved here, so it is an open-air museum rather than a lived-in quarter. It is small - an hour covers it. Free, and often used by hanbok-rental groups for photographs.

Nearby

Namsan and the cable car are above; Myeongdong and Chungmuro are a short walk.