It’s Hahoe (Hahway) or the Highway

There were a number of sites in Andong we were interested in seeing. Tops on the list was the Hahoe folk village, and a buddha whose body was carved in the side of a small cliff with his head placed on top that dated back to the 11th century.

The first thing we did in Andong was to seek out the tourist information office so we could stock up on pamphlets and get some bus info for getting around the city. We had about an hour to get the bus to the village so we got a quick bite to eat on Andong’s food street, a long street lined with traditional Korean restaurants.

Once we got to Hahoe we were kind of surprised by the village. I hate to admit it, but I wasn’t really fussy on the village itself. Unfortunately my expectations were somewhat skewed my experience in another cultural village where I saw see-saw acrobats and a tight-rope artist as well as a horse show. This place was simply pretty, peaceful and quiet. That didn’t stop me from injecting some life into it though.

Although the village may not seem impressive on first sight, it does have an interesting lore and history. Hahoe is known for it’s wooden masks and performances centering around this art-form. The lore is that mysterious fires were happening in the village. One day a villager had a dream which revealed the cause. A goddess was upset with the village.

The villager was told to make masks and perform a dance in order to appease the goddess. He was also told to keep his work a secret, for if anyone was to see his work he would die. He wouldn’t just drop dead either, he’d vomit blood and then die. This goddess must have been pissed. So the villager locked himself in his house and worked in secret. A girl who was in love with the villager got frustrated by his absence and peaked into the window to see exactly what he was up to which resulted in his death. She committed suicide from the guilt of causing his death. The villagers comforted her spirit by building a shrine in her honor.

So Hahoe became famous for it’s masks. Every saturday and Sunday they hold a traditional performance. While waiting for the performance to begin, I visited a museum where they had an exhibit devoted to the Queen of England who visited Andong back in the 1990s. I’m by no means a fan of Her Royal Majesty. I waited until no one was around, then I posed for a photo to pay my respects. Making a mockery of royalty is always fun. I generally don’t do this kind of stuff, but for Her Royal Highness I made an exception.

After getting an autograph we went out for a traditional meal, some dak-jim, one of Andong’s famous dishes. It was quite nice. I also tried an Andong version of a traditional rice drink. The rice drink is served cold and spicy, so K wanted nothing to do with it. B tried a little and left the rest to me.

After the meal we went to check out the mask performance. It was great!

Even though none of us could understand what the actors were saying, watching them interact with each other was lots of fun.