Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do - Yeongyang

 

Located in the inland area of the Taebaek mountains in the northeast of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Yeongyang shares the borders with Uljin-gun, Yeongduk-gun to the east, Andong city to the west, Cheongsong-gun to the south and Bonghwa-gun to the north.

Yeongyang-gun is made up of 1 eup and 5 myeons.

The County flag symbolizes the prosperity of the region and the progressive spirit of its people who are moving forward and outward in the world. The circle represents the korean letter 'ㅇ', the initial letter of the word, 영양(Yeongyang in Korean), and taegeuk figures stands for the special products of Yeongyang such as red peppers. The colors of red, green and blue stands for red pepper, green mountain, and clear water, respectively, maximizing the image of purity

County Flower : Peony

The brilliant and elegant sense of beauty symbolizes an eternal prosperity and hope of Yeongyang with the appearance of invaluable men of talents here in Yeongyang

County Tree : Pine tree

As the most of the trees grow widely in Yeongyang-gun with its 86% occupied by mountain area, this evergreen stands for the hopes and aspirations of habitants of the county

County Bird : Black-billed magpie

The Magpie was long considered as a bird of a lucky sign and symbolizes a hope to inhabitants of our county.

An isolated area difficult to access, Yeongyang is sometimes called an "inland island". The county has the lowest population of all counties in the North Gyeongsang Province, being mountainous with deep ravines, and only 10 percent of its land is cultivable. However, Yeongyang is noted for its beautiful natural scenery especially around Ilwolsan, the spiritual mountain. it is called Ilwol(Sun and Moon in Korean) because the rise of the sun and the moon is first seen here. The county is also famous for its apples and chili peppers, and is home to the Yeongyang Chili Pepper Experimental Station.

Here is a list of the restaurants in Yeongyang and the type of food served which I got from their homepage.

Type of Food	Restaurant	Tel. No
Bulgoki	Sunsan Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2026
Bulgoki	Silbi Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2463
Bulgoki	Mampo Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2339
Bulgoki	Yeongduk Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2510
Bulgoki	Rangwon Garden	82-54-054-682-1247
Bulgoki	Burim Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2345
Bulgoki	Hayanbi Garden	82-54-054-682-3355
Bulgoki	Daegu Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2678
Bulgoki	Miseong Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2574
Bulgoki	Cheongsol Garden	82-54-054-683-3762
Bulgoki	Jinmi Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2066
Bulgoki	Samwon Garden	82-54-054-683-5858
Korean Food	Mokwa Bulgoki House	82-54-054-683-1588
Sanch'ae Bibimbab(rice mixed with mountain greeneries), chicken	Subi Tourist Farm	82-54-054-682-2681
Sanch'ae Jongsik( Korean meal with Mountain Greeneries)	Samyang Restaurant	82-54-054-682-4700
Fresh WaterCatfish Soup	Nakdong Restaurant	82-54-054-682-4070
Fresh WaterCatfish Soup	Daejeon Restaurant	82-54-054-682-0204
Fresh WaterCatfish Soup	KangcheonCharcoal Fire KalbiHouse	82-54-054-682-9043
Boiled Chicken	Yanghang Yaksutang	82-54-054-682-4456
Boiled Chicken	Ibam Yaksutang	82-54-054-682-4011
Chicken Soup with Jinseng	Mujakjeong Restaurant	82-54-054-682-1829
Roasted Goat Meat, Chicken	Ilwolsan Restaurant	82-54-054-682-7211
Roasted Goat Meat, Chicken	Sanjang Restaurant	82-54-054-682-2319
Roasted Goat Meat, Chicken	IlwolsanTourist Farm	82-54-054-683-8009
Roasted Goat Meat, Chicken	Cheonsu Restaurant	82-54-054-683-0311
Roasted Goat Meat, Chicken	HeukrimsanGoat Restaurant	82-54-054-683-1312
Roasted Goat Meat, Duck Meat	Cheongroksu Restaurant	82-54-054-682-7329
Goat Soup	Chilseong Restaurant	82-54-054-683-2454
Wild Goose Foods	Ranji Restaurant	82-54-054-682-1247

Yeongyang red pepper is well-known as the best quality in the nation. A seed production of the species of both good quality and good appearance red peppers with umbrella shaped stems and sharp ends, was first carried out in 1960 amongst the red peppers grown in Ogi-ri, Subi-myeon. This proved to be of superior quality, and which was later cultivated in an expanded area. The Yeongyang red pepper tastes good, is fragrant with a vivid and beautiful color. It floats easily on the water and is flavorful with just a relatively small amount being used. Ground, it produces very fine powder with a good texture due to the small amount of seeds in the red peppers..

Yeongyang red pepper has received grand prizes several times from National Top Notch Agricultural Exhibitions.

Year	Award
2002	Gold medal from the 11th Exhibition of the National Best Farm Products for the part of red pepper
2001	Gold medal from the 10th Exhibition of the National Best Farm Products for the part of red pepper
2000	Gold medal from the 9th Exhibition of the National Best Farm Products for the part of red pepper
1999	Grand prix from the Geonuk Farm Products Fair for the part of Seasonings. Designated as "one local autonomy, one noted products" by Korea National Tourism Organization (for the Red Pepper part)
1998	Silver medal from the Best Farm Products Fair, Domestic Farm and Marine Products Festival(grand prix for the Red Pepper part)
1995	Gold medal from the Best Farm Products Fair, the Second Green Period(grand prix for the Red Pepper part)
1992	Grand Prix from the Best Farm Products Fair, the Second Green Period

The Miss Redpepper Contest was introduced in 1984 for the first time, to propagate the excellence of its local specialty, the red pepper. From 1990 the contest was held every other year alternately, with an athletic meeting for the county residents' union. The 10th contest was held during the Red Pepper Festival in 2000.

Yeongyang is also known as a centre of literature. It has fostered a great number of patriots and literary men such as Kim Dohyeon, Lim Sunbong, Nam Jahyeon, O Il-do, Cho Jihun, Lee Mun-yeol and the master artist Keum Gyeongyeon. So I shall tell you something about these famous sons of Yeongyang and perhaps we can visit the houses where they were born.

Cho Tongtak was a man of literature, poet and scholar, writing under the pen name of Jihun. He was born on December 3, 1920 at Jugok-ri in Ilwol-myeon, the second son among four siblings. His father, Cho Heonyeong, was a herb doctor originally from Hanyang and a member of the Second National Assembly. He made his debut into the literary world at the age of 24. Among his main works are, A Buddhist's Dance (1939), An Introduction to a History of Korean Literature, Chongrokjip, Ponghwangsu, Decoration of A Grass Leaf, the Selection of Cho Jihun's Poems, and In Front of History.. He received the Freedom Literature Award in 1956, and participated in the World Poet Meeting held at Belgium as a Korean delegate in 1961. After that he was elected the president of the Korean Poets' Association and devoted himself to the development of poetry in Korea. He passed away on May 17, 1968

         The house where  O Ildo was born

Huibyeong(1901~1946) was a poet and his family was originally from Nakan while his pen name was Ildo. He was born in Gamcheon-ri, Yeongyang -eup, and showed an unusual gift from childhood. He made a belated start in his studies but managed to cope very well. Later, he became fascinated with poetry and made his debut in the April issue of the Josun Mundan with his piece “On a White Beach of Hankaram” (a wide river). He was a patriot and refused to abandon his national consciousness even under the dark years of the Japanese imperialism with his issue of a poetry journal.

Keum Gyeongyeon, Master Painter was an artist of Western paintings. He was brought into sudden prominence in the early years of Korean history and died at the age of 33 prematurely. He solidified his footing as an artist by winning several prizes during the 1930s but passed away from a chronic disease, pulmonary tuberculosis before actually blooming.
Although he left behind only a small number  of his works , they showed his standing in the painting circle during the early stages of the introduction of Western Paintings to Korea.

Woli-ri(Dudeul village) is the  hometown of Lee Mun-yeol, a descendant of Seokkye, Lee Simyeong. Lee Mun-yeol, who has just turned fifty, has been a reigning figure in Korean literature for a little over two decades now. He has won both high critical acclaim and a huge popular following. He graduated from the College of Education, Seoul University and entered the Korean literary world with his collection of short stories "Do you know Nazare" being selected in Maeil Shinmun(newspaper)'s literary contest in 1977 and Saehagok in Dong-a Ilbo(daily newspaper’s) literary contest in 1979.
He penned many full-length and medium-length novels; "The Winter of That Year", "You Will Never Come Back to Your Hometown", "A portrait of a young man", "For Emperor", " A Love Song of Lette", "The Era of Hero", "A Son of a Man", "Geamsijo", "Our Twisted Hero", "Choice", and others.

 The Gwangsan Literary Research Center is housed in a very beautiful building. Established in Dudeul village, Wolli-ri, Seokbo-myeon, the hometown of Lee Mun-yeol, a master novelist, it is a literary research center to promote a systematic research in literature and to mould future writers.

We shall be visiting the following famous houses in Yeongyang as well because they have been declared  monuments, local tangible assets and folklore material.

This building is the house of  Byeoksan where Kim, Dohyeon(1852~1914), a patriotic martyr as  well as the 14th descendant of Kim Mungi was born.
It is believed to have been built around 1580 by his ancestor, Kim eungsang who was an escort of King Sunjo during the Japanese invasion of Korea, known as the Imjin War.

 Oryujeong-jongtae is the private house of Kim Duhaeng (pen name, Oryujeong) 

 Seokkye-gotaek  was built by Lee Simyeong  who was a Confucianist ( pen name  Seokkye.)

Okcheon-jongtaek, the house of Jo Deuklin(his pen name is Okcheon, 1658~1737), shows an example of the house of people of the nobility class during the late 17th century, composed of a main building, an annex and an ancestral shrine

Hakchojeong (an arbor) & Jeongchim belonged to Cho Kyu 1930~1679), whose pen name was Samsudang, during King Hyojong's reign in the middle of the Josun Dynasty period.
The arbor was first named as Samsudang and renamed as Hakchojeong by its new owner around 1910.

 Wollijugog-gotaek is the head family house of Lee Do(1636~1712) who was born in Inyang-ri, Yeonghae , a descendant of Lee Yea.

Seoseokji (a pond) is the relic of a representative garden of the Josun Dynasty constructed on the basis of "the ideas of the union of nature and human" by Jeong Yeongbang (1577~1650).
It is recognized as one of the three representative Korean gardens, along with Buyongwon in Wando and Sosweawon in Damyang built by Yun Seondo in Jeollanam-do.

 Yeongyang HyangGyo (a local Confucianist school) was built at Dokye-ri, Ilwol myeon, 4km away to the north from the location of a county office in 1679. It was originally  a local educational institution to rear men of talents and also acts as a shrine to enshrine the memorial tablets of the wise men and men of virtue.

Now how about some treasure hunting in Yeongyang?

 The Yongwha-ri Three-storied Stone Pagoda is estimated to have been  built during the United Silla era or earlier and is located in Yeonghwa-ri, village at the southern hillside of Mt. Ilwol, the northernmost tip of Yeongyang-gun

The Oriental Arborviatae Bush Natural Monument Arborviatae, standing in a row like a folding screen holding on to a stone wall, is a rare botanical species. 
This bush is a pride not only to Yeongyang but also to the nation.

The Manjisong Natural Monument is a variety of pine tree,  with a beautiful shape and of gigantic stature and is over 400 years old having more than 10,000 branches.

The Bonggammojeon Five-storied Stone Pagoda (a  National Treasure) is estimated to have been built in the early united Silla Kingdom period and which was pulled down and restored to its original form in 1980.

The Hyeon-ri Three-storied Stone Pagoda (a treasure)  is estimated to have been built during the United Silla Kingdom.

It is located about 300m away from the local road between Yeonghae and Yeongyang.

Samji-ri mojeon, a Three-storied Stone Pagoda, located in a hillside of Samji-ri, 3km away to the north from Yeongyang- eup, was built on a rock bed protruding from a hillside formed by a sheer cliff, by placing a big rock on it as the base of this stone pagoda.

 The clear water of the stream from the Jangsupochon fall runs through the woody mountain with thick pine trees which makes some pools of small and big water falls running through the Suha Valley.

The Bonshin valley, with the Suha valley and Mt. Ulryon at its side, spread through the road toward Baekam spa town in Onjong-myeon, Uljin-gun and it is 6km long.

The shape of Sonbawi is like a gigantic candlestick with big rocks standing between the cliffs and a river. The name of the rock is Sonbawi and the river formed by the two streams running along the stone wall and cliffs joined at the entrance of the river is called Namyipo.

	Kokgang Eight Views                                                          Surrounded by a steep stone wall cut by water like a folding screen, a plain stone floor adjoining to the river is in harmony with its beautiful surroundings. This place was named Chokkumdae when Jeong Sukkyo, chief of the district, held the meeting of poets(verse composition) here in 1692.

 Keumsansung (a mountain fortress)  was built by a royal army leader, Kim Dohyeon (1852~1914), at his own expense,to resist the Japanese invaders, towards  the end of the Joseun dynasty

 

There is no museum yet in Yeongyang but there is an exhibition hall portraying the life history of a mountain village. It is located on the second floor of the Culture & Health Center next to the Yeongyang County People's Hall. On exhibit are those materials that reflect the traditional life of the Yeongyang region, collected and selected through research and excavation. There are around 200 kinds and 250 pieces of materials as well as five explanatory boards illustrating the history of this mountain village. There are also stone materials and ceramics, wood materials and farm appliances, and looms and other related data including the data on weights and measures. The displayed materials are classified according to the basis of the material, usage, and the quality, exhibited together with an explanatory illustration.

Especially, the totems,(Jangseung, manufactured out of Japanese red pine, called Hwangjangmok or Chunyangmok,) set up at the entrance of this hall represent the traditional folklore, depicting its natural beauty. This hall is a preparatory step toward the nation's only museum of a mountain village life.

Would you like to hear  a ghost story? Then come  a little closer…..                                                                                    Ilwolsan is noted for its beautiful natural scenery but not many people visit it because it’s very remote and isolated and difficult to access. And there’s also a story that it’s haunted there. It seems that some two or three centuries ago, a woman, the wife of a certain Mr. Hwang staying in north Andong fled from her husband’s house to the mountain and committed suicide there because she could not bear the ill-treatment she received from her husband’s family. Her ghost could not be appeased as she was so angry and at the same time so sad that she haunts the slopes of Ilwolsan till this very day. Her ghost is known as Hwang-ssi-buin (wife of Mr. Hwang.) To those of you who dare venture there and bring offerings to pray to her you will be rewarded for your sincerity and generosity. But for those who are dishonest and greedy they will be punished with misfortune.

There are 3 small temples on this mountain, two of them having the same name, the Dragon Flower Temple but spelt differently. (Yong-hwa-sa and Yong-wa-sa.) Apparently there had been a famous temple by that name a long time ago but which was destroyed during the Korean War. So we don’t really know which one is the true heir of that famous Yong-hwa-sa temple of those days. The third and the smallest temple is called the Seon-nyeo-am or Immortal-Woman Hermitage. Here you can find the portrait of Hwang-ssi-buin enshrined in the Main Hall where you can place your offerings on the table in front of it.

Almost time for us to leave Yeongyang but before that we have to look for the specialties  here so that we can enjoy them on the way  to our next destination. Local specialties include red pepper, apples, tobacco, herbs, and highland vegetables. Most of the soil in Yeongyang-gun is sandy loam or loam . Peaches produced in Yeongyang area in these soil conditions and enriched by mountain grass manure show high levels of sweetness, coloring and shape. Yeongyang pear is very juicy and sweet with crunchy pulpy substance, and thin smooth rind. Cultivated in the mountain hills under the large temperature difference between the day and the night using organic farming methods and sod-culture without using weed killers. Yeongyang apples  have a high degree of sweet, solid flesh and colorings and thin rind. Cultivated at the outskirts of the Mt. Ilwol, 1,219m above the sea level, using compost, watermelons are characterized by the big size, high sugar level, thin but hard rind and clear black stripes. Yeongyang Grapes are characterized by their large fruit and high sugar level, which are produced on fertile soil and with proper climate for their growth.

With our baskets filled with all those lovely fruits we’re ready to go. So long, farewell and until we meet again adieu!