The tourist brochures proclaim JINJU to be “the most beautiful city in Korea” but I didn’t hear about that until I reached the place. Having seen it though, I would say that it is a pretty place. Part of its attractiveness is that it is built on a river, the Namgang, to be precise in this case. Its most attractive spot is the rebuilt fortress with its walls outlining the contours of a little hill overlooking the Namgang.
However, what makes Jinju special is its place in the national history. Its fortress at the northern end of the Namgang has many tales to tell of a terrible time when the Japanese invaded Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The Jinjusanseong ( Fortress) was the site of one of the main battles and it was here that about 70,000 Koreans died in defense of their country.
Walking around the grounds of the fortress in the spring of 2007, the spring flowers distracted me from the past. Creamy magnolias, yellow dogwood flowers, scarlet camellias, pots of decorative pansies and the occasional cherry blossom tree were all vying for the attention of my camera. It was peaceful and calm, particularly as it wasn’t the weekend and the spring weather was showing its sunnier side.
It was hard to imagine this was once the scene of some fierce battles which involved soldiers, civilians, and even monks who turned soldiers. Standing on the edge of the cliff near the Chokseongnu Pavilion and looking down into the calm waters of the Nam River lapping innocuously around the famed Uiam Rock, I struggled to picture how a Japanese army general could be hurtled to his watery death by a zealous kisaeng.
Photo source:http://wikitravel.org/upload/en/thumb/1/13/Jinju_Fortress_River_View.JPG/400px-Jinju_Fortress_River_View.JPG
1 comment:
wow the most beautiful place in korea,its my dream place ..im so hope sameday i will see it in real,,thanks
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