A little over a year ago, I moved to Bukchon Hanok Village from Yeonhui-dong. I moved there to be closer to Sungkyunkwan University, which is just on the other side of Changdeokgung, a brisk walk up the hillside. Bukchon itself is the area between the palaces Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, where the upper class of the Joseon Dynasty lived. In more recent history it's been the home of artists and history lovers and the sort of people who would willingly choose to live in homes like this rather than the latest highrises.
I live on the fifth floor of a four-storey building--in other words, an oktap-bang, or rooftop room, constructed additionally after the rest of the building.
People always ask me if I live in a Hanok, but I don't--I simply have the best view of them.
I have windows on three sides: each one offers a unique view of Bukchon Hanok Village. To the north, I look toward Jungang High School, a beautiful campus with some very impressive architecture. I walk through there coming home every day.
And to the south, we have a view of downtown Seoul, where the skyline includes Jongno Tower and N Seoul Tower.
Bukchon Hanok Village embraces a slower way of living...is what I'd say if it weren't for the robust tourism industry, shipping in busloads of domestic and international tourists every day and crowding up the streets with selfie-stick-wielding visitors. During the day, Bukchon can be a pretty frantic area, and you have to maintain situational awareness to keep from colliding with others or getting in their pictures.
Something unexpected happens starting around 5pm. The streets begin to empty out, and the tour buses take all the tourists away. Around then, Bukchon once again becomes a quiet, serene place.
The crowds are gone but most of the businesses stay open into the evening.
The neighbourhood is most attractive at this time of day, coated in a golden glaze of the day's final flickers of sunlight.
Just like everywhere in Seoul, there is nightlife in Bukchon Hanok Village, although it takes on a unique character here. For most people, this is not a nightlife destination, so most of the activity after dark is from the local businesses, perhaps taking a breath after a long day of siege under tourism.
Signs of life still are visible, just not in the roving packs of tourists you'd see during the daytime.
Signs around the neighbourhood warn visitors not to disturb the locals, because this is still an active, lived-in neighbourhood.
Of course, living between three grade schools, it isn't always that quiet. Students stay at school until 10pm, and their events can be quite loud, especially around 10pm when they all head home at once.
After that, the only life in the area would be residents coming home from late-night appointments elsewhere in the city. The local grocery store stays open until as late as midnight.
It's easy -- and rewarding -- to get lost in the backroads of Bukchon Hanok Village, where you never know when you might discover another new boutique restaurant or gift shop or art gallery.
Anyway, this has been my home for a year, and it all seems pretty normal now.
By Jon Dunbar for the Korea Blog