Gochangeupseong Fortress: In the Footsteps of KBS's Hwang Jin-yi, Part 2

 The scene in which Ha Ji-won’s Hwangjinyi practises her dance before her first love, the impressionable and impetuous aristocrat ( played by Jang Geun-seuk) was shot at Gochang- eupseong.



See the last few minutes of this Youtube video from the KBS drama. 
Now I’ve been to other fortresses before in South Korea such as Nagan-eupseong, the fortress at Gongju and Hwaseong in Suwon, so what would make Historic Site No. 145 in Gochang-gun in North Jeolla Province (Jeollabuk-do) so special and worth visiting?

 Various sources suggest visitors take note of its distinctive round walls outside the fortress gates erected during the early Joseon Dynasty, a moat to discourage invaders and the absence of private dwellings ( unlike Naganeupseong, for instance) with only government buildings erected within its walls.

But I think what gives Gochang-eupseong its unique charm is its story of WOMEN POWER.

Professor Hur Kyoung-jin recounts a legend in the Spring 2005 edition of Koreana:
“At one time, two ramparts had to be built in the region at the same time, so men built one section at Seosan while women built another at Gochang. As an incentive, it had been decided that whichever town completed its walls first would be awarded a local magistracy…. However, since the men underrated the women, they would wile away the time in drink and merriment. In contrast, the women worked ceaselessly, hauling the stones and building the walls, without taking breaks. In the end, their steady efforts enabled the Gochang walls to be completed first. "

Dapseong Nori (walk around fortress) is held during the Gochang Moyang Fortress Festival 

( before or after September 9th in lunar calendar)

"To commemorate this legendary event, every year the women of Gochang walk all along the walls as part of a ‘wall-stamping’ festival. It is believed that anyone who walks the full length of the walls will be assured of good health and a long life. The effects are said to be especially beneficial if carried out during a leap year, when the gates to the afterworld would be open.”

A full circuit of these walls once is supposed to "prevent disease".

 Go round TWICE to enjoy a lifetime of good health AND

if you've the stamina to repeat the promenade for the THIRD time,

you've secured your ticket to heaven.

So if I manage to make my way to Gochang on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, I'd need to bear in mind a few things:

1. Find out from the KTO when AND WHERE exactly this picturesque ceremony takes place. One blogger was too late for the event and had to be content with the sideshows.  Must remember to ask for the specific gate where this annual parade begins and ends.

2. I must NOT expect dramatic sights of ladies in hanbok gracefully and stoically bearing big rocks above their heads. Apparently, custom only requires symbolic gestures and the modern-day ajumma need only carry a stone as big as her dainty fist.

3. It's a 10-min walk from Gochang Bus Terminal to get to  Gochangeupseong.

sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=658574
http://culture.gochang.go.kr/site_english/
http://culture.gochang.go.kr/site_english/festival/07-01.htm
http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZxuVlq45Y
http://koreana.kf.or.kr/popup.asp?flag=view&article_id=5789&sword=gochangeupseong&volumn=19&no=1&lang=English

Mureung Valley: In the Footsteps of KBS's Hwang Jin-yi, Part 1

Nothing beats sageuk ( Korean historical dramas) for getting inspiration when planning your travel itinerary around Korea. For some inexplicable reason, I've been watching again the KBS drama, Hwang Jin-yi and salivating each time the beautiful scenery of the countryside is featured. So here's the first part of my wish-list as I try to follow the footsteps of the KBS version of Hwang Jin-yi's story. ( Not much point trying to trace the trail of the original gisaeng as she lived in what is now North Korea).

First stop: the famed Mureung Valley in Gangwon-do, popular in the past among poets and these days among K-drama producers. It  forms the backdrop to the scene in which an aristocratic youth ( played by Jang Keun-suk) chances upon Hwang Jin-yi (played by Ha Ji-won) as one of the gisaengs-in-training. Just as it's love at first sight for the young man, it's love at first sight for yours truly as well and I wonder why I didn't pay attention to the mention of this place in my Lonely Planet guidebook. Now I kick myself mentally for this omission as I've also learnt that it's also been used as the outdoor shooting location for two of my other K dramas, Painter of the Wind and City Hall.




Click here for the link to KTO website.

I'd probably find a bus to Gangwon-do from Incheon International Airport.

May have to change at Chuncheon to get to Donghae. If it's late in the day,

 I'd stay at a jjimjilbang near the bus station at Donghae.

If Samhwasa temple or its nearby hermitages here don't have an informal temple-stay,

I guess I could easily find a minbak just outside the park grounds.

Must mentally prime myself not to expect gushing

 waterfalls as they tend to dry up in autumn.

I'd spend time to gawk and marvel at the Chinese characters inscribed on these rock faces.

And of course, hike up to see the Twin Falls.

From the KTO website:

Mureung Valley (무릉계곡), which spans from Mt. Dutasan (두타산) and Mt. Cheongoksan (청옥산), refers to a four-kilometer stretch from Hoamso Pond – where, according to a legend, a tiger drowned to death – to Yongchu Falls, located upstream. The waters of Mureung Valley flow over wide sheets of rocks and into the cracks between them, forming a large and particularly splendid pond along the path. Starting at Mureung Rock, a wide sheet of single rock on which hundreds can sit, the valley twists and turns around Samhwasa Temple, Haksodae Falls, Okryudong, and Seonnyeotang Ravine, all the way to Ssangpok and Yongchu Falls, providing breathtaking scenery along the way. Also known as ‘Arcadia,’ scholars and poets frequented the valley in olden times and the 5,000-m2 Mureung Rock bears the inscribed names of some of these poets and their works. The valley offers a medley of curious-looking rocks and stones, and other odd scenery that attracts many tourists.

Also, I'd need to check out Sogeumgang in the vicinity.
Hiking Trails - 3 suggestions from KTO:
* Trail 1:  Entrance - Mureung Rock (무릉반석) - Samhwasa Temple (삼화사) - Dutasanseong Fortress (두타산성) - Dutasan Mt. (두타산)

* Trail 2: Entrance - Mureung Rock - Samhwasa Temple - Gwaneumsa Temple (관음사) - Gojeokdae (고적대) - Dutasan Mt.

* Trail 3: Entrance - Haksodae (학소대) - Ssang Waterfalls (쌍폭포) - Youngchu Waterfalls (용추폭포) - Bakdallyeong (박달령) - Cheongoksan Mt. (청옥산)

Travel options:
1. Take a bus from East Seoul Terminal to Donghae. Nineteen rounds of bus services are provided everyday from 07:09 to 20:05 and the ride takes about 3 hours.

Or take a train from Cheongnyangni Station to Donghae/Mukho Station. Six rail services are provided everyday from 07:00 to 22:40 and the ride takes about 6 hours.

2. Once you are in Donghae, you can take a city bus from Donghae Intercity Bus Terminal to Mureung Valley. (The bus operates at 30-minute intervals and the 14.1 kilometer journey takes about an hour.)

 
sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=789870#
http://punynari.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/forfigure-fm.jpg?w=600
http://tigersandmagpies.com/2010/01/donghae-cheongok-cave-mureung-valley/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlKdfq64mj0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.skynews.kr/article_print.asp?mcd=60&ccd=6&scd=3&ano=37
http://english.dhtour.go.kr/guide/10.htm

Houses In Korea I Fell In Love With, Part 3

Actually I'm not crazy about the house featured in Secret Garden ( starring Ha Jiwon and Hyun Bin) - it's too white, too Zen, too contemporary for my old-fashioned tastes.  The exterior is another story, though. Loved the wooden walkway leading to the apron overlooking the small pond outside the house. The eulalia and maple trees plus the ceiling-to-wall glass windows allow for wonderful vistas which can be enjoyed throughout the seasons.

It's not going to be easy for K-drama fans to make a pilgrimage to the Maiim Vision Village which is the shooting location for this hugely popular dramatic comedy about role reversals. Getting to the Maiim Vision Village which was also the location for some scenes from  other K-dramas like "Winter Sonata" and  "Star's Lover" isn't really the problem. See the map below.

The tricky part is gaining admission onto the grounds which cover 330,000 square meters in Yeoju in Gyeonggi-do as it's  not open to the public. Unless you are a member of the press or better still, an employee who is supposed to undergo training under Maiim Group, a company selling cosmetics and health food products, your chances of getting close-up snapshots of the grounds and buildings are as slim as Ha Jiwon's character gaining approval from her snobbish mother-in-law. Otherwise, you may be lucky enough to explore its dorms, community area and sports facilities and lovely gardens. About ten years ago, it existed as a youth hostel but was converted into a training centre when the land was purchased by Maiim Group.

That being the case, you may as well be an armchair traveller and explore the place via cyberspace. One of the most significant buildings here is the Mud and Stone House. The architect, Bae Dae-yong, was responsible for this hybrid of contrasting textures which featured a stone section as a working space on the upper part of a hill and the "mud" section on the lower slope inteded as guest rooms.

Bae remarks: "Beauty is nothing but something that is hidden in nature, being revealed accidentally. It can be declared that there is no essential beauty not rooted in nature. For beauty belongs to nature. Beauty is not created but discovered, and we should approach the nature as near as possible if we want to discover it, and we men cannot create such a beauty but can only make it revealed." His ideas about how design can harmonise with nature can be found in his book, "Removing, and Becoming Transparent”.

Here are some examples of Bae's work.

 

My favourite room is probably the library - see above right. The suspended window on one end  of the room looks like a painting in itself while the rock is a pretty large token of Nature making its presence felt in this airy, ample interior.

Here's another instance of Bae's work - this time for a wealthy couple in Seoul. The ceramic tableware, stone lantern and bamboo are the traditional touches to this otherwise very Western design.

See also:

Houses In Korea I Fell In Love With, Part 1

Houses In Korea I Fell in Love With, Part 2


sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_8_5_1_68.jsp
http://www.soompi.com/news/secret-garden-press-conference-features-house-and-actors
http://www.soompi.com/content/type/2/0/3/9995
http://www.soompi.com/image/335575
http://www.bnadesign.co.kr/home/project.bna?proc=view&cateNo=100000011&index=128&lang=E#
http://www.bnadesign.co.kr/home/design.bna?lang=E
http://www.kdb.co.kr/screen/jsp/IHIre/down/new/2011.02-16.pdf
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/archive/pavlik_article_112002
http://www.maiim.com/eng/01_Story/03_Company_Brief.html?pageNum=1&subNum=3&ssubNum=1