By Koh Hyunjeong

Photos = Seoul Metropolitan Government
Video = Seoul Hanok Week's official YouTube channel

An event next week will allow visitors to freely wander inside a Hanok (traditional house).

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sept. 12 said it will host the inaugural Seoul Hanok Week from Sept. 18-27 at Bukchon Hanok Village and Seochon Village in the city's Jongno-gu District and Eunpyeong-gu Hanok Village in Eunpyeong-gu District.

The event will feature exhibitions, interactive programs, performances and tours to offer a diversity of methods to enjoy Hanok.

The main program "Open House Hanok" will be held on Sept. 24. Visitors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day can freely explore the interiors of nine outstanding Hanok buildings in the capital like Hwigyeomjae and Yangokdang in the Bukchon village and Seohijae and Bijain in the Eunpyeong village.

Shown is Bijain, which was named an outstanding Hanok in the nation's capital in 2019 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The city in 2016 launched the annual honors to promote the value of Hanok and stimulate the construction of such traditional houses.

Exhibitions and interactive programs will also promote Hanok. Bukchon Hanok Hall will hold until Sept. 16 "Elderly Couple Gooding's Visits to Public Hanok," an exhibition of illustrations by the renowned artist Ginsuum of the daily life of an elderly but active couple.

Another exhibition, "Blurring Boundaries: Hanbok Revisited," will be held from Sept. 18-27 at the Hanok of the Arumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation in the Anguk-dong neighborhood of Jongno-gu.

On Sept. 21, German Hanok architect Daniel Tandler and other experts will hold a discussion on Hanok from 4 p.m. at Bukchon Binkwan (Guest Hall).

The music concert "Hanok: Han Eum" featuring classical music and pansori (traditional lyrical opera) is slated for Sept. 22-24 from 5 p.m. at a Hanok pavilion of Open Songhyeon Green Plaza.

All events are free but attendance at the Hanok talk, music concerts and select programs require reservation via lottery selection.

More information is available on the Seoul Hanok Portal of the city government's website:
https://hanok.seoul.go.kr/front/index.do

The music concert "Hanok Han Eum" is scheduled for Sept. 22-24 at a Hanok pavilion of Open Songhyeon Green Plaza in Seoul's Jongno-gu District.