On May 1, JeongWa Hanok Village in Ilsan officially opened to the public. The villages are all constructed with Geumgang Pines, the supreme kind of timber only used for royal families. The scale of JeongWa is jaw dropping, with 150 thousand acres of land and more than 80 billion dollars invested to create the biggest hanok community in the nation. Only 21 houses are built at present, but officials say that by 2018, a total of 74 houses, including museums, will also be constructed. To celebrate the grand opening of JeonWa, the light festival is held everyday from sunset to 10:30 P.M. during the entire month of May.

 

 

As soon as the sun goes down, the arch-shaped entrance of JeongWa displays its magnificent glow. The LED lights form the shapes of flowers, and as people walk under the lights, it gives an impression that they are drifting along the still moment, as blazing petals of flowers silently snow down amongst them. Stepping inside, the hanoks, Korean traditional houses, are neatly divided into sections with stone walls. Although these walls diminish the traditional ambience of villages with wide, earthy courtyards and low fences, they do make the town seem more organized.

 

 

Walking along the stone walls, the festival consists of four different sections—JeongWa Square, Food Zone, Sotdae Habitat, and the sawmill management office. For one, the Food Zone, which includes a café and a restaurant, initially comes into view. Here, people can enjoy fusion refreshments, such as pizza with Korean rice cakes for toppings. The interesting feature about the Food Zone is that there are three enormous bonfires burning in the middle. These fires not only provide warmth from the chilling breeze, but they also induce a buzzing excitement among the crowd, as they bring out childhood memories of family trips with campfires.

 

Right next to the Food Zone, the JeongWa Square awaits with hanoks open to every visitor. These hanoks are actually built on higher ground so that people need to climb a few stairs in order to see Although it is a bit tiresome the houses in full view. Although a bit tiresome, the staircases in fact have an effect of heightening people’s expectation of the spectacle they are about to see. At the end of the stone steps, as if responding to the spectators’ anticipation, a stunning beauty is stretched out before their eyes.

 

The pines and the shrubs in the garden are all wrapped in green, red, and yellow lights, forming a hazy glow that softly envelops the hanok. Contrasted to the garden that radiates a vivid, entrancing glare, lights for hanok itself are minimized as much as possible. This prevents the decorations from being too gaudy and ostentatious, and the minimum lights placed below hanoks’ eaves actually emphasize the curvaceous aesthetics of the gable roofs, which demonstrate the most florid designs in Korean traditional architecture.

 

Moving further uphill, people finally arrive at Sotdae Habitat, which is one of the most unique places in the festival. Sotdae is a bird-shaped pole erected to deliver people’s wishes for a good harvest to the gods. At Sotdae Habitats people can write their own wishes on tree plates and hang them under the poles. Here, the crowds are not just passive bystanders; they become communicators between the past and the present, actively participating and mingling with Korean traditions.

 

Decorations next to Sotdae Habitat are also aweinspiring. The lights carry a sense of vigorous animation, as they shape a herd of deer running, or the flow of a stream. Standing amongst the dazzling rays, these lights seem to visualize a moment from the affectionate memories of the past filled with childish imagination and leisure, and provoke a sense of plaintive longing toward the bygone years already fossilized in the corners of one’s mind.

 

Although the grandeur was indeed splendid, there were a few things that JeongWa had to improve upon, such as traffic. Located in Sarihyeon-dong, which is an extremely remote place without any nearby public transportation, it is actually dangerous to visit JeongWa on foot after dark. Furthermore, some works are somewhat unfitting to the overall mood. For instance, unicorn ornaments and hanoks were completely irrelevant; rather, placing of Haechi, the mystical creature of Korean legend, would have been more appropriate.

 

Nonetheless, JeongWa should be acknowledged as it successfully wove modern artistry with conventional culture, providing a place that can be enjoyed by a wide spectrum of generations. Fusion foods and hanoks with LED lights all have managed to balance the different taste between the young and the old. The festival would not only provoke a sense of nostalgia to elders, but would also arouse curiosity of today’s youth toward retro culture, the modern decorations erasing their foreignness toward outdated values.

 

To people who yearn to be acquainted with a novel experience, to those who long to cherish past memoirs and be drunken in the romantic air of spring night, JeongWa beckons its radiant glow.

 

 

Festival Information

Name : Lighting Festival in JeongWa Hanok Village 2015
Place : Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, Ilsandong-gu, Sarihyeon-dong 395 9
Date : May 1, 2015 ~ May 31, 2015
Entrance Fee : Adults – 8000 won / Students – 6000 won / Children – 5000 won