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
