Andong by KTX-Eum: Hahoe Day Trip from Andong Station

Andong is the city Koreans associate with the yangban, the Confucian gentry of the Joseon dynasty: clan villages, private academies, ancestral rites, and the food that grew out of them. It is about two hours from Seoul on the KTX-Eum, the newer high-speed train that runs on the Jungang Line through the mountains of central Korea, which makes Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site, a realistic day trip.

The thing to know before you go is that the station is not where older guidebooks put it. On 17 December 2020 Andong Station moved from the old downtown by the Nakdong River to a new building in Songhyeon-dong, on the edge of town next to the intercity bus terminal. That is good news for the countryside sights, because the buses to Hahoe leave from right outside, and less good for the old market, which is now a ride away.

How long is the KTX-Eum from Seoul to Andong?

About two hours from Cheongnyangni. When the KTX-Eum began running on 5 January 2021, replacing some of the older Mugunghwa trains, Korail gave an average of 2 hours 3 minutes, against up to 3 hours 54 minutes before. At launch it stopped at Yangpyeong, Seowonju, Wonju, Jecheon, Danyang, Punggi and Yeongju; stopping patterns now vary by train. Since the Jungang Line was opened through to Busan, some trains also start at Seoul Station.

🚄 Seoul to Andong by KTX-Eum (timetables change; check KORAIL+)

From	Line	Arrive at	Time	Notes
Cheongnyangni Station	Jungang Line (KTX-Eum)	Andong Station	Average 2 hr 3 min at launch (2021); check KORAIL+	The main departure point
Seoul Station	Jungang Line (KTX-Eum)	Andong Station	Check KORAIL+	Some through trains to Busan start here

Andong is not on the SRT network and never was, so the merger mainly means one app. The more relevant change came on 30 December 2025, when Korail raised the Cheongnyangni–Bujeon KTX-Eum service to 16 trains a day on weekdays and 18 at weekends, with four each way extended to Seoul Station, and added two more Seoul–Andong runs. The same line carries on south to Gyeongju and to Taehwagang Station in central Ulsan, which is a different station from the Ulsan (Tongdosa) KTX stop.

---

How do you get from Andong Station to Hahoe Village?

By city bus from outside the station. Andong City’s tourism website lists the routes from Andong Station and the bus terminal to the main sights. Every ride costs 1,500 won, and a transfer within an hour is free if you tap your card when you get off.

🚌 From Andong Station to the main sights (Andong City tourism website)

To	Bus	Notes
Hahoe Folk Village	Express 2 or 210	210 also serves Byeongsanseowon
Woryeonggyo bridge and Andong Dam	112	First bus 07:30
Dosanseowon academy	Express 3	First bus 06:10
Bongjeongsa temple	Express 2 or 310	First bus 07:20
Old downtown, market and jjimdak alley	City bus or taxi	Check the route on Naver Map

The tourism site gives first buses but not full timetables, and the village routes do not run often. Check the next departure on Naver Map or at the stop before you commit, and photograph the timetable at the Hahoe stop for the trip back.

---

What should you see in Andong?

Hahoe Folk Village — A village of the Pungsan Ryu clan inside a bend of the Nakdong River, with tile-roofed yangban houses and thatched cottages that people still live in. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 31 July 2010, together with Yangdong Village near Gyeongju. Allow at least two hours to walk the lanes and the riverbank. If you are in Andong in late September, the city’s International Mask Dance Festival (24 September – 4 October in 2026) stages performances here as well as downtown.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Woryeonggyo — A wooden pedestrian bridge across the river below Andong Dam, 387 m long and 3.6 m wide, opened in 2003. VisitKorea places the Andong Folk Village, a park of relocated traditional houses, about 650 m away. In summer the city holds a night festival here; in 2026 it ran until 9 August and spread to the nearby Imcheonggak house. Two long-running heotjesabap restaurants stand by the bridge, so this is the natural lunch or dinner stop.

📍 Open in Naver Map

The old station downtown — Andong’s first station, by the Nakdong River, was completed in 1930 and handled trains for 90 years. After the move in 2020 the building stayed, and it now goes by Jungangseon 1942 Andong Station; it hosted the opening ceremony of the 2026 Mask Dance Festival. It sits in the old centre near the markets, so it is worth a look on the way to dinner.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Andong soju — Not a sight but a reason many people come. The city’s distilled soju is a world away from the green-bottle kind; our separate Andong soju guide covers the brands, the history and what to buy.

🎫 Visitor basics (VisitKorea, Andong City tourism website)

Place	Cost	Hours	Notes
Hahoe Folk Village	Adults 5,000 won, youth 2,500 won, children 1,500 won	Apr–Sep 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30); Oct–Mar 09:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)	Open all year
Woryeonggyo	—	—	387 m footbridge, opened 2003
Andong city buses	1,500 won per ride	First buses from about 06:10–07:30	Free transfer within 1 hour

---

Where do locals eat in Andong?

Jjimdak downtown, heotjesabap by the bridge, mackerel at the market. Andong’s three famous dishes each have their own corner of town.

Heotjesabap Kkachigumeongjip (Seokju-ro 203) — One of the two old heotjesabap houses by Woryeonggyo. 헛제삿밥 heotjesabap means a “fake ancestral-rite meal”: the dishes of a Confucian memorial table, served without the rite. VisitKorea lists the yangban set, tangpyeongchae (mung-bean jelly salad), gujeolpan and Andong salted mackerel on the menu, with hours of 09:30–20:30 (break 15:00–16:00, last order 19:30), open every day.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Andong Minsok Eumsigui Jip — The other one. Maeil Shinmun reported in 2025 that it was opened in 1978 by the late Jo Gye-haeng, the first to sell heotjesabap as a restaurant dish, and moved to its current spot by the bridge around 2000 together with Kkachigumeongjip. The meal comes on brassware: pan-fried jeon, skewered beef, salted mackerel and the shark meat known as dombaegi. Mix the rice and vegetables with soup soy sauce rather than gochujang, the local way.

📍 Open in Naver Map

The jjimdak alley at the old market — A street of about 100 m lined with 찜닭 jjimdak restaurants, running into Andong’s old market (Gu-sijang). Jjimdak is chicken braised in soy sauce with potatoes, vegetables and glass noodles, usually ordered as a whole chicken for two or three. Before the 2026 Mask Dance Festival the city tested food from 25 jjimdak restaurants for hygiene, and a jjimdak festival opened in the alley on 31 October. Pick a shop that is busy with local families.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Seobu Market — Andong’s salted mackerel, 간고등어 gan-godeungeo, comes from a time when fish carried inland from the coast had to be salted to survive the trip. The old Seobu Market holds a salted-mackerel food festival each September; the 2026 edition, from 17 to 20 September, was the 15th. Outside the festival, look for mackerel on the menus of the market’s restaurants.

📍 Open in Naver Map

🍽️ Andong local eats at a glance (VisitKorea, Maeil Shinmun 2025, Kyongbuk Maeil 2026)

Place	Area	Order	Why locals go
Heotjesabap Kkachigumeongjip	Woryeonggyo	Heotjesabap set, salted mackerel	Open every day, by the bridge
Andong Minsok Eumsigui Jip	Woryeonggyo	Heotjesabap	The first heotjesabap restaurant, 1978
Jjimdak alley	Old market, downtown	Andong jjimdak	A whole street of one dish
Seobu Market	Downtown	Salted grilled mackerel	Mackerel festival every September

---

What does a day in Andong look like?

• 09:00 — Arrive at Andong Station. Catch Express 2 or 210 to Hahoe from the stop outside.
• 10:00 — Hahoe Folk Village. The lanes, the riverbank and the clan houses; two to three hours.
• 13:30 — Back towards town. Bus back, or a taxi if the timing is poor.
• 15:00 — Woryeonggyo. Cross the bridge, walk to the folk village, and eat heotjesabap by the bridge.
• 18:00 — Old downtown. The old station and jjimdak in the market alley, then a taxi to the station.