Anseong Day Trip: Namsadang Show, Farmland & Gukbap

When something fits perfectly, Koreans say it is Anseong-matchum — “made to order in Anseong.” The phrase began with brass bowls: in the late Joseon period, the brassware cast in this market town south of Seoul was the country’s best, and the town’s name became shorthand for quality. Anseong still calls itself the City of Masters.

Its other claim is stranger. In the 19th century, a wandering troupe of male acrobats and musicians based here was led by a 15-year-old girl named Baudeogi. The troupe lives on as a city-run company, and on spring-to-autumn weekends its tightrope walker jokes with the crowd from a rope 3 m up. Anseong has no subway or railway station, so few foreign visitors come — which is exactly why it makes a good day trip.

How do you get to Anseong from Seoul?

By bus — there is no subway or train. Anseong’s own transport page lists only buses, and the two practical options both start in Gangnam.

🚌 Seoul to Anseong by public transport (Anseong city timetables, Oct–Nov 2026)

Route	Seoul starting point	Bus	Approx. time	Notes
Express bus	Seoul Express Bus Terminal, platform 32 (Lines 3, 7, 9 Express Bus Terminal Station)	Anseong-bound express	Traffic-dependent	Stops at Gongdo, Daerim Dongsan and Chung-Ang University before Anseong Terminal; book in the T-money GO app
Metropolitan bus 4401	Gangnam Station (Sinbundang Line stop), also Yangjae Station	4401 to Hankyong National University	About 80 min	Every 20–30 min on weekdays, 20–40 min on weekends; last bus from Gangnam 23:50
Line 1 + city bus	Pyeongtaek Station on Line 1	City bus 70, 370 or 1150	Longer than the direct buses	Useful if you are already in Suwon or Pyeongtaek

Bus 4402 (Gangnam Station to Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts, on the eastern side) and 4305 (Munjeong Rodeo Street in Songpa-gu to Anseong Bus Terminal) also run, and the city notes that some intercity routes, including Seoul Nambu Terminal services, are bookable in the Bustago app.

Going back, the city’s November 2026 timetable lists more than 30 express departures a day from Anseong toward Seoul, from 06:10 until about 22:00; the last 4401 leaves Hankyong National University at 22:30. The sights are far apart, so plan on taxis, or rent a car to combine the eastern temples and the farm.

---

What is Anseong known for?

Brassware, a big market and the Namsadang troupe. All three come from geography: Anseong sat where the roads from the south met on the way to Seoul. The city describes its market as one of the three great markets of Joseon, where southern goods gathered before going up to the capital, and craftsmen settled around the trade.

The Anseong Matchum Museum traces local brassware to the early 1600s, when the scholar Yi Sik wrote of staying in an Anseong brass-making village. Its craftsmen were called seonsu jangin, roughly “master hands,” and were regularly summoned to make vessels for state rituals. Anseong’s style is cast brass, poured into molds rather than hammered.

Baudeogi’s real name was Kim Am-deok. According to the city troupe’s history, she was born into the lowest social class and became the female head of the troupe based at Cheongnyongsa temple, touring six acts: percussion, plate spinning, tumbling, tightrope, a mask play and a puppet play. When Gyeongbokgung Palace was rebuilt in 1865, the regent Heungseon Daewongun gave her a jade headband ornament reserved for third-rank officials — a symbolic honor, not a post. The city founded today’s troupe in 2002 and opened its performance hall in 2010.

---

What should you see in Anseong?

The weekend Namsadang show is the one thing you can’t see anywhere else, so build the day around it. Then choose by company: the farm for kids, the museum and temples for history, the market if the date ends in 2 or 7.

Namsadang Baudeogi permanent show (Namsadang-ro 198-2, Boegae-myeon) — The hall has more than 700 seats around a 20 m circular stage. The 90-minute show strings together the troupe’s repertoire: a percussion opening, beona plate spinning with sticks and pipes, salpan tumbling with a clown trading jokes, eoreum tightrope on a rope about 3 m up, children stacked on shoulders, and the 12-bal sangmo, a hat with a ribbon about 14 m long spun by neck movement alone. The jokes are in Korean; the stunts need no translation. The hall sits inside Anseong Matchum Land, a city park with an astronomy science center, a craft center and a year-round sledding slope. Book on the hall’s website or at the box office. City bus 15-1 from the Insam Nonghyup stop downtown takes about 25 minutes; the 13:20 departure gets you there for the 14:00 show.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Farmland (Daesindu-gil 28, Gongdo-eup) — Run by Nonghyup, Korea’s agricultural cooperative, and billed by the city as the country’s largest hands-on farm park: about 1.3 km² of pasture with Korean brindle cattle, donkeys, sheep and geese to feed. A tractor wagon loops through rye, rapeseed or cosmos depending on the season. We compare it with Alpaca World and indoor zoos in our guide to animal experiences near Seoul. By public transport, the city suggests getting off at Daerim Dongsan and taking a taxi.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Matchum Museum (Seodong-daero 4726-15, Daedeok-myeon) — On the Anseong campus of Chung-Ang University, a one-minute walk from the Chung-Ang University stop used by both the express bus and the 4401. The brassware gallery covers the idiom’s origin, how cast brass is made, and ritual vessels from the royal shrine Jongmyo. Free; no photography inside.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Chiljangsa (Chiljang-ro 399-18, Juksan-myeon) — Tradition dates the temple to 636; the Goryeo monk Hyeso rebuilt it in 1014. The main hall’s paint has weathered almost to bare wood, and beside it stands a finely carved Buddha judged to be 8th-century Unified Silla work. The legends are the fun part: the Nahanjeon hall where the royal inspector Park Mun-su is said to have prayed before passing the state exam, and seven bandits from the novel Im Kkeok-jeong. It is on the far eastern side, so pair it with Seoil Farm.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Seoknamsa (Sangchonsaemal-gil 3-120, Geumgwang-myeon) — A small Silla-founded temple up a valley on the slopes of Seounsan. The bracket work of its Yeongsanjeon hall points to the early-to-mid Joseon period. K-drama fans know it from Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin), whose lantern scene for Kim Seon and Wang Yeo was filmed here. City bus 100 from the Insam Nonghyup stop goes to Sangjung-ri Sangchon, then it is a 15-minute walk.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Market and the 5-day market (Sijang-gil 37, Seoin-dong) — On market days, the city says, stalls add clothes, bags, shoes, bedding, household goods and vegetables. Come for the scene rather than souvenirs, then go for soup.

📍 Open in Naver Map

🎫 Visitor information (Anseong city and operator pages, Oct 2026)

Place	Hours	Closed	Admission
Namsadang permanent show	Sat & Sun 14:00–15:30, Apr 4–Nov 29, 2026	Weekdays; season ends Nov 29	Adults (19+) 12,000 won, ages 13–18 6,000 won, ages 5–12 3,000 won
Anseong Farmland	10:00–18:00	Open all year except Seollal and Chuseok day	Adults 12,000 won, 36 months–18 years 10,000 won; under 36 months free with a parent
Anseong Matchum Museum	09:00–18:00	Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday), Jan 1, Seollal, Chuseok	Free
Starfield Anseong	10:00–22:00	—	Free entry

The farm’s fees are from the city’s tourism page, which notes they can change by season. Anseong residents and seniors get 50% off the Namsadang show, and children 4 and under go free if they don’t need a seat.

---

Where do locals eat in Anseong?

Beef soup first. Anseong’s food identity is jangteo gukbap, “market soup,” a beef broth with rice named for the town’s famous market, plus the local Anseong-machum Hanwoo beef. Prices and hours below are from the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization’s restaurant listings on ggtour.or.kr, checked on October 31, 2026.

Anil-ok main branch (Yeong-dong, downtown Anseong) — Gyeonggi Tourism named Anil-ok one of its representative Gyeonggi Nopo in 2023, a list of shops that have held the same spot for 20 years or more and that stand out for their story. The menu is a beef-soup house’s: seolleongtang 11,000 won, Anseong jangteo gukbap 10,000 won and Hanwoo beef-head soup 15,000 won. Open 08:00–21:00 daily, with a break from 15:00 to 17:00, so it works for breakfast before the show. The only other Anseong name on that 2023 list is a bookstore, Anseong Seojeom.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Jangteo Gukbap (Miyang-myeon) — A soup house south of the city center that takes its name from the dish. Market soup is 9,000 won; boiled beef-head slices are 38,000 won for a group. Open daily 07:00–20:00. You need a car or taxi.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Seoil Farm’s restaurant Solli (Ilju-myeon) — Seoil Farm keeps more than 2,000 earthenware jars of fermented pastes and soy sauce made by Seo Bun-rye, Korea’s Food Master No. 62, known for cheonggukjang, a fast-fermented, strong-smelling soybean stew. Solli serves it several ways at 16,000 won. Open 11:30–16:00, closed Mondays.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Chukhyup Hanwoo Plaza (Gye-dong) — The livestock cooperative’s own restaurant, the straightforward place to try Anseong beef. Grilled 1++ grade Hanwoo starts at 65,000 won per 150 g; the cheaper way in is galbitang (15,000 won) or raw-beef bibimbap (15,000 won). Weekday hours are 11:20–21:30 with a break from 14:00 to 16:30, so it fits an early dinner before the bus home.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Anseong Tojong Sundaeguk main branch (Gongdo-eup) — A 24-hour sundae soup house in Gongdo, the side of town with Farmland and Starfield. Sundae-guk is 10,000 won. Useful when the soup houses downtown are on their afternoon break.

📍 Open in Naver Map

🍲 Anseong local eats at a glance (ggtour.or.kr listings, Oct 2026)

Place	Area	Order	Price guide	Hours
Anil-ok main branch	Downtown (Yeong-dong)	Anseong jangteo gukbap	10,000 won	08:00–21:00, break 15:00–17:00
Anseong Jangteo Gukbap	Miyang-myeon	Market soup	9,000 won	07:00–20:00
Seoil Farm Solli	Ilju-myeon	Cheonggukjang	16,000 won	11:30–16:00, closed Mon
Anseong Chukhyup Hanwoo Plaza	Gye-dong	Galbitang or Hanwoo	15,000 won / 65,000 won per 150 g	11:20–21:30, break 14:00–16:30
Anseong Tojong Sundaeguk	Gongdo-eup	Sundae-guk	10,000 won	24 hours

---

What does a one-day Anseong route look like?

On a weekend, do the museum in the morning, soup at lunch and the Namsadang show at 14:00. Families can swap the museum for Farmland.

• 08:30 — Seoul Express Bus Terminal. Anseong-bound express from platform 32, or the 4401 from Gangnam Station. Get off at Chung-Ang University.
• 10:00 — Anseong Matchum Museum. One minute from the stop. An hour is enough for the brassware gallery. (With kids: get off at Daerim Dongsan instead and taxi to Farmland, which opens at 10:00.)
• 11:30 — Anil-ok, downtown. Market soup or beef-head soup. On a date ending in 2 or 7, walk through the 5-day market first.
• 13:20 — Bus 15-1 from the Insam Nonghyup stop, or a taxi, to the Namsadang Performance Hall.
• 14:00 — Namsadang Baudeogi show (90 minutes). Then walk around Anseong Matchum Land.
• 16:30 — Early dinner at Anseong Chukhyup Hanwoo Plaza, after its afternoon break.
• 18:30 — Bus back to Seoul from Hankyong National University (4401) or Anseong Terminal (express).