Until science can come up with a working time machine, a living museum in Seoul might just be the next best thing. The Korean Folk Village is an outdoor ethnographic museum that recreates a rural Korean village as it would have looked several hundred years ago, with houses, work spaces, schools, and religious temples crafted to exacting detail. Most importantly, the museum is staffed with historic "re-enactors" in period costume who are well-versed in ancient customs and traditions. They're more than happy to show visitors how things were done in the old days, from growing crops like sweet potato, radish, and ginseng to practicing chaesang, the craft of working with bamboo strips to create sheaths, boxes, and hats. Be sure to stick around for the music, as performers celebrate the successful harvest with Farmer's Music and Dance, which uses Korean percussion instruments and wind instruments to triumph their good fortune. From L-shaped farmers houses from the north to low-slung, breezy abodes from Jeju and Ullung Islands, visitors can get a unique perspective on the daily lives of generations of Koreans. The museum is convenient to four Starwood hotels, including the brand-new Sheraton Incheon Hotel.
