On the lovely sunny day, we visited Chungmuro where the ‘Tourist Attractions in Seoul for Foreigners’ program took place. About 4 o’ clock, the Chungmuro Street was so quiet. We, as a stranger there, wondered how cultural asset inheritance exists in this center of a big metropolitan city.

At a glance, it seemed like there couldn’t be any traditional things in the dreary city. However, after taking a few steps from the subway station, we could see the gorgeous tiled roof with a ‘Nam-san Village of Traditional House’ signboard. The scenery of ‘Nam-san Village of Traditional House’ was refined and graceful.

Not artificial, but the harmonious zest represented the Korean’s own beauty just as it is. The lesson was initiated with looking around the maiden house of Park Young-hyo, who was the king’s son-in-law. The lecturer explained about the house and its lattice.

The lattice door was the figure of a bat, which was the symbol of good luck. A woman from Tunisia showed her interest in ‘The game of yut’ and ‘Too-ho’. After throwing several sticks ended in failure, she looked abashed.

On the other side, there was a fireplace. The woman from Tunisia was really concerned about how one can wash the caldron even though it was fixed in the fireplace. And then, the tour group moved to a well. She was rejoiced to see the well and told us that she had also used a well in her hometown.

Besides, she threw coins in the well to make her wishes come true. Also, she was curious about the structure of traditional houses, particularly about the reason why women and men’s places are separated. We could feel the cultural differences from her words.
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