Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Amsa Prehistoric Village: Prehistoric Culture Festival




Sunday we stopped by the Amsa Prehistoric Village (암사선사우적지) to check out the Prehistoric Culture Festival going on for the day. We didn't expect the huge crowds we found there, and unlike most festivals around Seoul, we didn't see a single foreigner in sight. While the festival was only mildly interesting to us, children would have had a blast here. 

The following are some of the activities that everyone was invited to join:

Build a prehistoric house


Meet a prehistoric person
 This caveman was extremely excited to see me. The photo opp was priceless.

Here's a safe activity for children: Start a fire

Crack acorns

Original pottery and artifacts from prehistoric times in the museum
 The museum here is small and there is no significant English signage. I found myself bored because I couldn't understand anything. The boyfriend explained some things to me, like that they classify the peoples by the designs of the pottery.

Prehistoric houses

Sirum(씨름) Korean style wrestling

Prehistoric Olympics (and you thought the Greeks were the first!)

Very popular musicians

World's first Lotteria, established in 4000 BC! 
 If you're in the area, Amsa Prehistoric Village might be an interesting stop, but I don't feel as though it's worth going out of your way to see. The festival made it slightly more entertaining but this would be most fun with children I think.

2 comments:

  1. Amsa is a really unique glimpse into Korea's past. It's also one of the few places I've seen in Korea where it acknowledges migration from China to the peninsula. When we were last there, it was right after the typhoon hit and most of the attractions were closed. I'd love to head back and see more. Thanks for sharing this with us!

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  2. Well put QiRanger, it has a lot of meaning, but for me, the lack of English signage was a big deterrent for me to want to go back. My Korean is good, but, gosh darn it, I'm never going to understand technical language like that. Looking at old pottery is nice, but if you don't get what it means then it's hard to get much out of the experience. I guess I was just a little let down is all... I'd been wanting to come here for a while now...

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