Last Updated on September 16, 2024 by Laura
There are places for which it doesn’t matter how much the world changed around them, they still keep the historical essence of their past. One of these places is Rakkojae Seoul Main Hanok. In this blog I will tell you everything about our amazing hanok stay in Seoul and how can you add this to your itinerary too!
Since I started dreaming about my trip to South Korea, I was researching for a meaningful place to stay. Somewhere where I could experience the tradition of the Korean culture and the beauty of its historical past. After a very careful research, Rakkojae, an accommodation company that curates a very interesting collection of historical hanoks, caught my attention. There are not many business that curates historical hanoks in Seoul so I wanted to be certain of choosing the right one. For the purpose of this blog, I will give you all the right information on our experience and how to book your stay.
What is a hanok?
The term “hanok”, in Korean 한옥 designate a traditional accommodation. These type of accommodations have origin in the 14th century, during the reign of the Joseon dinasty. Nevetheless, the term hanok is pretty “new”. In fact, before 1903, traditional houses were addressed as jooga. The term hanok appeared in Korean dictionaries only in 1975 as opposing to western-style accommodations.
One characteristic of the hanok is their architecture. In fact, many hanoks feature a Ondol. This is a specific type of underfloor heating system that provides warmth during the winter and aid air circulation during summer.
South Korea has many different types of hanok. These variates from region to region and type of social class that once they belonged. For example, upper class hanok have tiled roofs.
Where the hanoks are located in Seoul?
There is an estimate of 8,000 hanoks in Seoul. Most of them located in cluster areas called “hanok villages”. One of the most famous ones is called Bukchon. Nevertheless, over-tourism is recently playing a bad role in making a visit to this particular village not very enjoyable. For a more relaxing and authentic experience, I recommend you visiting different but equally beautiful hanok villages around the city. One of my favourite is the Seochon Hanok Village, which include about 600 historical hanoks. Nevertheless, here below you can find some additional villages to add to your list.
- Namsangol Hanok Village
- Ikseon-dong Hanok Village
- Eunpyeong Hanok Village
- Seongbuk Hanok Village
How recognise and stay in a historical hanok?
Similarly to stays in historical Riads in Morocco, also historical hanoks have some criteria you might want to check before booking. I’ll write here the ones I used to select my traditional stay in Seoul.
Architecture and Location
First. You’ll have to differentiate old original architecture from replicas. There are a lot of hanok-looking type of accommodation in Seoul and South Korea. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are old or have any historical value. Replicas are just replicas. A bit like the Eiffel Tower at Epcot. To spot the original, traditional hanok look at their architecture and location. Indeed, traditional hanoks still feature their original wooden structure and reduced their modernisation intervention to the minimum in order to preserve their historical status. Moreover, it’s very unlikely to find historical hanok out of their hanok villages. So is better to take note of the above villages when searching for an accommodation.
Renovation vs Tradition
Second. You’ll have to look for restored vs maintained architecture. If you watched my live stories from South Korea on Instagram, you’ll know that we’ve been staying in several hanoks during our trip. Although all of them had some historical value and were located in hanok villages, not many of them preserved their original structure. While some of them kept their general appearance, others had their interior design was completely adapted to modern comforts. Nothing wrong with this. We really loved our stays BUT as much as you gain comfort, you’ll loose something on the side of tradition. Therefore, at one point you might want to choose if opting for a modern hanok stay, like the one we did at Nujung. Or doing a little digging and find some traditional gems.
Overall Traditional Experience
Another fact you might want to consider when looking for a traditional hanok, is the overall experience you expect from it. In fact, while modern hanok stays are similar to hotels in terms of what you can experience. Traditional hanok step one mile further and offer a range of experiences to enrich your stay. These go from tea ceremony to traditional breakfast or performances.
Cost
In all my years working in the luxury travel sector, I learnt a precious lesson when it comes to exclusive stays. If it’s cheap it’s probably not the one you are looking for. Indeed, special stays in rare, unique places, such as historical hanok, unlikely come cheap. Prepare to spend a little fortune for the lifetime opportunity of travelling back in time. Despite not all of them categorised as “luxury stays”, being such exclusive and limited number of them available, make them de facto a luxury open to a few lucky ones.
Therefore, expect to pay not less than $500 to a few thousands dollars per night to stay in one of these jewels accommodation. This could potentially be one of the main differences in distinguishing traditional historical hanoks that maintained their integrity, from modern one. In fact, albeit luxurious, modern hanoks are generally more affordable and in larger number than traditional ones.
Rakkojae
Rakkojae’s name means “a place where one can enjoy the traditions of times past and rest one’s soul”. Born as a South Korean cultural centre to make foreign visitors experience the tradition of the country, Rakkojae (main hanok) was repurposed as hotel in 2003 after a careful renovation by South Korea’s Human National Treasure. Now, Rakkojae includes a collection of carefully selected historical hanok in Seoul and Andong as well us a lovely cultural centre in the heart of the Bukchon Hanok Village.
Rakkojae Seoul Main Hanok
Reborn from the skilful renovation of Master Carpenter Young Jin Chung, Rakkojae Main Hanok is a real hidden treasure of the Bukchon Hanok Village. Proud of its (slightly more than) 130 years of history, this beautiful hanok has been repurposed several times before welcoming guests as a hotel. Indeed, the lovely lady who welcome us, and provided us with a small tour, underlined how Rakkojae was originally a noble residential accommodation and then a confucian school during the Japanese occupation.
Now a luxury accommodation, Rakkojae was the first hanok-hotel to be listed in the first edition of the Michelin Seoul guide in 2017.
Rakkojae Main Hanok has 5 different rooms grouped around a beautiful courtyard. We actually discovered that this hanok is in reality a compound of three different hanok. One in a ‘ㄱ’ shape, one in a ‘ㄷ’ shape, and one in a single-unit patio style. The ‘ㄷ’ shape hanok was in the past an Anchae. This was a section of the traditional hanok that was reserved for the women of the house. This shape is quite unique for this area of Korea, and mostly seen in southern cities like Gyeonjiu. This makes Rakkojae quite unique in its genre.
Another surprising thing is that the hanok also features a private jjimjilbang and priceless historical artefacts spread in between the rooms and courtyard. These are giving the feeling of being in a timeless place.
Additional Hanok you can book from Rakkojae
Rakkojae Main Hanok is just one of a few properties you can book via the Rakkojae website. In fact, there are more beautiful locations to explore if you have enough time!
In Seoul, in addition to the Main Hanok, you can book a room also in the latest addition, not too far from the first one called Bukchon Binkwan by Rakkojae. This is a meditation-themed hanok with a wonderful terrace over Bukchon offering one of the best views in the neighbourhood. Differently from the Main Hanok, this has a much more contemporary history being built in 1930 and proposing a renovation between old and new.
In the area of Andong there are two properties managed by Rakkojae. The first is the Choga Annex. This is located in front of the Hahoe Village ferry dock and consists of four separate “choga” houses. This is the only traditional accommodation in in the Hahoe Folk Village where each room has its own private bathroom.
Opening in September 2024, the newest property of Rakkojae is called Rakkoae Hahoe Hanok Hotel – Giwa Main Complex. This is probably the greatest of all the Rakkojae’s property being inspired by the majestic Royal Palaces of Seoul. It’s the perfect place where to admire Joseon Dynasty’s architecture and being surrounded by peaceful nature.
Reservations for the Andong properties are exclusively via this link.
Our experience at Rakkojae Seoul Bukchon
Arrival and check-in
We arrived as early as we could at check-in time. This because we wanted to experience in full what Rakkojae had to offer!
As soon as entering the main gate, we felt like we were leaving the modern world behind. A sense of peace immediately invested us while slowly walking the stone pathway. Everything looked like out of a beautiful painting. Am I still in the busy Seoul??? Visiting in Summer, will grant you a very lush view of the courtyard with flowers fully in bloom and trees in their lush greenest appearance. A lovely lady accompanied us all the way through our room explaining us the interesting history of Rakkojae and taking our preferences for breakfast. Then, left us for a relaxing afternoon.
Patio Room
The Patio Room is one of the most popular in Rakkojae. In fact, it’s a separate small hanok that features a wooden patio built over a small pond. The patio, once likely used by scholars, is now the perfect retreat where to have a tea, breakfast or simply reading immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of the hanok.
The Bedroom
The bedroom features a traditional yo 요 bed on the floor with a luxurious, thick mattress and blanket. It almost doesn’t look one is sleeping on the floor! During winter, the underfloor heating system of the ondol is fully functioning. Therefore, guests can have a cosy sleep in a warm floor (Koreans think this has a lot of health benefits!). As we visited in summer, room was equipped with air conditioning. The bedroom is also equipped with some modern facilities to help guests’ comfort. Indeed, you can find a Nespresso machine, tea facilities, a mini fridge and even some free snacks and noodles! I particularly loved the free face masks from House of Dowha (one of my favourite Skincare brands!). Loved also that these facilities are hidden inside a wall wardrobe to not ruin the traditional aesthetic of the room.
The only fully modernised part of the hanok is the bathroom. Which I appreciated the contemporary and luxurious renovation within the historical frame of the house. I guess even in the most traditional hanok, no guest wished to use a Joseon-era toilet! Luxury toiletries with bathrobe and slippers are provided too.
Afternoon Tea
After you check-in and settled into your room, a welcome afternoon tea will be served. The location where this is served depends on your type of room. In our case, this was served in the lovely wooden Patio. The welcome tea consist of cold refreshing tea (in the summer) and traditional Korean sweets desserts. I really loved our tea! The little biscuits were also very tasty. Glad I managed to try them as, until that moment, I saw them only in period K-Dramas!
If you wish to undertake a proper tea ceremony, you can pre-book this at the Rakkojae Culture Lounge. Prices starts at KRW 61,200 per person.
Jjimjilbang Experience at Rakkojae
Jjimjilbang is the Korean term for “sauna/bath house”. If you are guest of Rakkojae, you can use the hanok’s private sauna and enjoy an afternoon of full relaxation. To note that you’ll need to pre-book your sauna spot in advance (we did it on arrival). Indeed, this yellow-mud sauna is quite small. Ideal for 2 max 3 people. Therefore, you don’t want to share this space with other guests of the house.
I would like to underline that this jjimjilbang is not your regular sauna (i.e. sweating hot place with steam). Indeed, in line with the Rakkojae experience, this is a traditional dry sauna (re-adapted with some modern techonology). Herbal plants are disposed on the walls and the heat is provided by the infrared heater. It is been approved that dry heat induces sweating, facilitating the release of toxins from the body while also promoting relaxation and stress reduction. Herbs (like pinewoods) are supposed to have relaxing and healing properties. I never been in a sauna like this! Usually I am not a big fan of saunas as I can bare the heat only for a few minutes. But this dry sauna was amazing! Moreover, it smelled so good when we entered! We stayed a good 30 minutes laying on the floor and doing absolutely nothing.
We completed our relaxation afternoon with our face masks from House of Dohwa.
Breakfast
If you follow me for a long time, you know that breakfast is my favourite meal of the day when I travel. Breakfast at Rakkojae doesn’t disappoint. You can opt for traditional Korean Breakfast or Continental Breakfast. As I have often digestive issues in the morning (since my pregnancy) we opted for the continental one. Everything was delicious but to note that strictly continental breakfast is usually only sweet while this included also some savoury dishes like eggs or hash-browns. If you have any intolerances, is better to alert the hanok management prior to your arrival.
Additional experience you can do at Rakkojae Main Hanok
If you have more time or staying multiple days, you would probably add some extra traditional activities to your experience. I grouped this below.
Hanbok Rental
Guests at Rakkojae can rent for free hanboks to use within the property ground. You have to pre-order this on arrival. Unfortunately we did book our hanbok experience for 9 am the day after but the hanboks never arrived so I can’t comment on this experience!
Boksoondoga Craft Makgeolli private skincare bath
If you want to extend your jjimjilbang experience, you can also this lovely bath experience that can be done directly inside the property. This has a cost of KRW 95,000 per session for a max of 2 people.
Rakkojae Culture Lounge Experience Program
Just at five minutes walk from the main hanok, the Rakkojae Culture Lounge offers the possibility to guests to experience additional activities. These goes from tea ceremony, Korean wine and Spirit tasting, cooking class and walking tours.
You can have more information of what is available here.
Overall experience at Rakkojae
Our overall experience at Rakkojae was really positive and we really loved spending our time in this unique accommodation. We had only a few minor issues that were addressed promptly and didn’t affect our opinion of the property and all the lovely staff who work there! Staying in a traditional hanok, such as Rakkojae, surely goes at the top of the best things to do in Seoul!! I hope in the future I could stay in more properties of Rakkojae like the one in Andong. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time this round!
Practical information for your stay at Rakkojae
How much it cost staying at Rakkojae
Prices at Rakkojae depends on which type of room/hanok you are booking. You have to expect that larger hanok are generally more expensive. Prices for the main hanok at Bukchon are between KRW 490,000 and 840,000 ($ 350 – 615) per night.
The prices for the Patio Room (where we stayed) start at KRW 490,000 ($350) per night. Breakfast is included. Other services have a separate cost.
How much time before do I have to book?
I would recommend booking as soon as possible once you confirm your trip to South Korea. In fact, Rakkojae is often fully booked. This is due to the fact that rooms are in limited number (just 5 at the main hanok) and that is very, very popular. With very popular I mean that many K-stars chose this location for their stays bringing to this place even more popularity. One of the latest famous visit to Rakkojae was that of the Blackpink for their Summer Diary in Seoul.
This is just to highlight the fact that if you must book largely in advance if you want to guarantee a space. We booked in January and our trip was in June. So I recommend at least 6 months in advance.
How can I book a room at Rakkojae
The only way to book a room at Rakkojae is exclusively via their website. They don’t use any intermediary website (i.e. Booking or Expedia). You can directly book with this link.
Location
Rakkojae Seoul Main Hanok is located in the heart of the Bukchon Hanok Village. The address is 218 Gahoe-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. To note that Google maps doesn’t work in Korea and I do recommend using Naver Map to find your way to the hanok. This is registered in English as “Rakgojae Seoul Bukchon Hanok Village”.
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