Among Korea’s many folk villages, Nagan is unique for its setting, surrounded by 1410m of Joseon-period fortress walls, built to protect the inhabitants from marauding Japanese pirates. It’s Korea’s best-preserved fortress town, crammed with narrow, dry-stone alleyways leading to vegetable allotments, and adobe and stone homes thatched with reeds. What's perhaps most interesting, however, is that people still live here.
The Namdo Food Festival (www.namdofood.or.kr), which receives 200,000-plus attendees, is usually held here early in October – it features 300 Korean dishes, eating contests and traditional cultural events.
Some homes double as minbak (private homes with rooms for rent, from â‚©40,000), restaurants and souvenir shops. Buses (â‚©1200, 40 minutes) leave every 90 minutes from Suncheon bus terminal.