The first floor features dioramas and representative examples of traditional material culture of the Cholla region. In this way the museum serves as an interesting introduction to Korean folklife for both native Koreans and foreign visitors. The best topography for a Korean village is near the bank of a smooth, flowing river with high land or mountains to the north and low land to the south. A river location tends to warmer winters and provides a convenient water supply which makes life much easier. A tall tree in the open plain in front of a village is called dangsan namu in Korean.
Men commonly congregate beneath it in an area called mojong .
The large tree worshipped as a guardian deity and is also a symbol of the village. Totem pole-like posts called changseung are located at the borders of the village to demarcate its boundaries and serve as guardians as well Bamboo poles called sotae have a similar function and along with the changseung are vestiges of ancient Korean beliefs. The common people in Korea generally lived in straw-thatched house. Researchers have noted that this form of construction is remarkably well adapted to the four distinct seasons of Korea. These traditional straw-thatched houses are cool in the summer and quite warm in the winter.