Gyeongju Yangdong Village [UNESCO World Heritage] (경주 양동마을 [유네스코 세계유산])

Gyeongju Yangdong Village is a fully preserved Joseon-era yangban clan village near Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, jointly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 alongside Hahoe Village in Andong as a representative pair of Korean historic clan villages. Yangdong sits on a slope that faces a wide river plain, with about 160 traditional houses — including dozens of well-preserved Joseon-era yangban (aristocrat) residences and farmer thatched homes — laid out according to traditional Korean geomantic principles. The village is still a working residential community: descendants of the founding Wolseong Son and Yeogang Yi families continue to live in many of the historic houses, and several open as guesthouses. Best given a half-day, ideally with one overnight in a traditional house to experience the village in its pre-dawn quiet.