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Hahoe Village or Andong Old Town?

Both make a fine Andong base, and they could hardly be more different. Hahoe gives you a night inside a UNESCO-listed clan village; the old town gives you jjimdak, the Maskdance Festival and the trains. Here is how to choose.

The verdict

For a first visit, a one-night stay or a trip built around history, choose Hahoe Village: some of its old houses run minbak, the lanes empty when the village closes to visitors at 17:00 or 18:00, and the 14:00 mask dance and Buyongdae are close at hand. For the Maskdance Festival, jjimdak dinners, early trains or city-bus day trips, choose Andong Old Town: the festival is staged downtown, the Old Market's jjimdak alley has around 30 restaurants, and the station-side half puts the KTX-Eum and the first buses at your door. Two nights? Take one of each.

Side by side

Hahoe Village and Andong Old Town, side by side
Hahoe VillageAndong Old Town
Getting thereKTX-Eum to Andong Station, then city bus Express 2, 210 or Pungcheon 2, or about 30 minutes by car; a free shuttle bus runs from the ticket office to the village entrance.KTX-Eum to Andong Station in Songhyeon-dong, next to the bus terminal; the Old Market is about 20 minutes on by bus.
Transport linksCity buses Express 2, 210, Pungcheon 2 and the Hahoe Shuttle; 210 also serves Byeongsan Seowon.KTX-Eum and intercity buses at the station; first city buses from 06:10 towards Dosan Seowon, Bongjeongsa and Manhyujeong.
Best forFirst visits, history, a night in an old village house.Food, festival nights, early trains, day trips by city bus.
EveningsThe village lanes after closing time, with the day visitors gone.The Old Market until 22:00, the jjimdak and makchang alleys, and the Maskdance Festival each autumn.
Sightseeing within reachHahoe Byeolsingut Tallori at 14:00, the Hahoe Mask Museum, Buyongdae Cliff, and Byeongsan Seowon 4 km east.Gu-sijang, Sinsijang, Mask Dance Park, Yeongho-ru, and Woryeonggyo on city bus 112.
Day trips and onward travelByeongsan Seowon on bus 210; the station is about 30 minutes by car.Dosan Seowon, Bongjeongsa and Manhyujeong by city bus; KTX-Eum to Cheongnyangni, Seoul Station and Bujeon in Busan.
FeelA living clan village of tiled and thatched houses inside a bend of the Nakdong.A market town by day and a festival town in autumn.

Choose Hahoe Village if

  • It is your first or only night in Andong
  • You want the village after the day visitors leave
  • The mask dance and Buyongdae are on your list
  • You want to sleep in an old village house

Choose Andong Old Town if

  • You are here for the Maskdance Festival
  • Jjimdak for dinner is non-negotiable
  • You have an early KTX-Eum to catch
  • You are planning city-bus trips to Dosan Seowon or Bongjeongsa

Questions visitors ask

Is Hahoe or Andong Old Town better for one night?

Hahoe. Some of its old houses run minbak, and staying inside gives you the village after it closes to visitors, at 18:00 from April to September and 17:00 from October to March. The old town is the better second night, or the better only night if you are in Andong for the Maskdance Festival.

How far is Hahoe from Andong Station and the old town?

About 30 minutes by car from Andong Station and downtown Andong. City buses Express 2, 210 and Pungcheon 2 serve the village, and the Hahoe Shuttle city bus does too. The station itself is about 20 minutes by bus from the Old Market.

Should I stay in Hahoe or the old town for the Maskdance Festival?

The old town. The festival is staged in the old downtown, at Mask Dance Park and at Jungang Line 1942 Andong Station, not at Hahoe, so a downtown room puts you close to every venue. It ran from 24 September to 4 October in 2026.

Read both in full.

Hahoe Village guideAndong Old Town guide

Sources & review

Editorial review: · Korea Standard Time