UNESCO World Heritage Series Part 12: Historic Villages of Korea - Hahoe and Yangdong
By Matthew Fennell, Contributing Writer
Following a year of visiting Korea’s 12 designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, we are concluding our Heritage Series by introducing the Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong. Established in the 14th and 15th centuries, Hahoe and Yangdong are excellent representations of the historic clan villages of Korea. Clan villages are settlements that are comprised of people who share the same prominent ancestors, many of which who were royalty, government officials, or revered scholars. While modernization has completely changed the landscape of these villages, the inhabitants still preserve the ancestral shrines, pray, and offer up food and liquor as offerings on a regular basis.
Clan villages developed and flourished in the Joseon dynasty, encouraged by Confucian ideals and principles. Government officials, and those who owned land, became part of the traditional ruling class during the Joseon Dynasty. In effect, these “yangban” were administrators and bureaucrats who oversaw the traditional agrarian bureaucracy and played a central role in the founding of new clan settlements, also based on the same Confucian principles. These clan villages also produced civil and military officials for the government.
Hahoe village is a yangban settlement formed at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, where members of the Ryu family have lived together for over 600 years. The village is especially well known as it is the birth place of two brothers: Ryu Unryong, the great Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty; and Ryu Seongryong, Korean Prime Minister during the Japanese Invasion from 1592 to 1598. Over the years, the Ryu clan has produced notable politicians and scholars and this is reflected in the architecture of the village, particularly the study halls. As with many Korean villages, Hahoe decreased in size during the 1980’s as many people migrated to larger towns and cities but there has been a recent revival with people returning and traditional houses being built.
Yangdong village is an example of a settlement that grew into a clan village through the marriage of two families, the Yi clan and the Son clan. These two clans produced several distinguished figures in the 16th century. This village has continued to expand through the years and the 20th century saw a railway station, bridges, a school, a church, and a Buddhist temple all constructed. A community warehouse was built in 1971 and the village has not suffered a severe decline in population as other villages in Korea have.
In modern day Korea, it is largely the elderly who live in villages that are associated with their ancestral clans. Most young people migrate to find work in big cities, and while some may eventually return, they often do so with people of different surnames. In some cases, high-rise apartments have forever changed the landscape and character of once-rural villages. However, Hahoe and Yangdong have bucked this trend and are rare living examples of real historical villages that once dominated the peninsula.