Artville

Heyri, Paju is well known as a high-style art village. However, it is not advisable to walk around the village in winter. Even with nice buildings to look at, walking through hilly roads and construction sites in cold, windy days will make you have a second thoughts. How about visiting galleries and museums for a quiet and warm quality time instead?

You can use public transportation to go to Heyri: take the 200 bus at exits 1 and 2 of Hapjeong station on subway line 2. Riding an electric car is one of the fun activities available at Heyri. If you have a driver’s license, you can rent one for 20,000 won an hour (031-957-0896), or you can buy a ticket for village tour at 3,000 won per each. A map downloadable at the village homepage (www.heyri.net) is a necessary item since Heyri has few signboards to guide tourists. You must check schedules of cultural events, including exhibitions, performances, and lectures, in advance. Casual visitors who think, “Let’s go and find,” may be frustrated. Preparation is a key to fully enjoying Heyri.

Exhibitions & Performances –

A small concert is held at broadcaster Hwang In-yong’s Camerata, a classic music room, every week. A reservation is necessary, and snacks are included in the 20,000 won entrance fee.

Its schedule for December includes: Uni String Ensemble at 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 9, flutist Park Ji-eun and violist Hungwei Huang at 7:00 p.m. on Dec 16, Kim Yeong-ik’s lute and Jeong Mari’s vocal at 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 24, Christmas party with music and wine at 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 25, and New Year’s Day concert at 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 31.

There will be another New Year’s Day concert at the Bookhouse Art Space at 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 30. You need to buy a 10,000 won ticket to enjoy Soprano Na Gyeong-hye and pianist Jeong Geum-ryeon’s performance under the title of “an impossible love.”

If you are touring the village with children, you can go to Ssamji Art Warehouse and “I like Strawberry,” a culture complex for children, with a 5,000 won package ticket. Pop-Up Book exhibition, another interesting event for children, is going to be held at Art Factory from Dec. 20.

Making a ceramic plate at Dodoheon’s Flower Pottery Studio’s pottery class is a fun activity for couples. A reservation is available at 30,000 won.

If you have enough time, you may want to go to Paju English Village (http://english-village.gg.go.kr/paju) or Provence (www.provence.co.kr) located near Heyri.

Food & Drink –

Most galleries have cafes. Touch Art Gallery’s café in front of Reed Plaza is a good place to take a walk after having a cup of tea. Children may not like the quiet meditative space as much as adults.

Heyri has many exotic restaurants for adventurous epicures, including Dodoheon’s El Patio (031-942-0918) for Latin American food and Sikmul Gamgak (031-957-3123) for spaghetti and risotto. Also recommended are Jin Art’s Rahem (031-946-3478) for fusion-style Korean food and Gongsajin Studio’s Rime Tree (031-957-0896) for sandwiches.

susanna@donga.com