Ibike Korea People-to-People Program
Photo essay: Chungju to
Mungyeong
Chungju to Mungyeong (50mi, 80km) Beautiful valleys separated by a mountain pass.
Points of Interest: Spa town, river valley, forests, continental divide, ceramic
museum.
There
are a couple of chains of 'gimbap' restaurants. The both use yellow and
orange in there color schemes and they are both open early for breakfast.
Besides gimbap (similar to sushi) and being quick, the restaurants have
extensive menus including omelets, cutlets, noodle soups, mandu (dumplings),
fried rice, etc. Something for almost every pallet. They were always
a good choice for breakfast when we could find one.
Many
districts have symbols. To the left are apples. Although apple orchard seem
fairly common in some other parts of the country I am assuming this is the
self-proclaimed apple
capital of Korea.Another sculpture seemed to be a chicken and rooster. Presumably this area has significant poultry production..
The third in this series is a chestnut, which was logical because a lot of chestnuts had fallen on the road (in October).
Sure enough,
up the valley and up in the hills, there were
health apple orchards in the area. They produce more apples on one branch
of a tree than I can get off of a whole tree four times as large. The
dearth of leaves on the tree is interesting.
As
we start up hills, burial sites are again a more common site.On the top of the hills and ridges in this area are scattered ruminants of fortresses and fortress walls. The fortresses are believed to have been built during the Three Kingdoms Era (B.C. 57 - A.D. 668) by Goguryeo Kingdom. Since Chungju and the South Han River was the border area between the Silla and Goguryeo, these mountains had strategic importance for the Goguryeo defending their southern border.
up against the trees, a statue of a traditional young
scholar
stood vigil.The scholar is from the Joseon Dynasty. At that time he would have had to walk the trail over the pass from Yongnam (southeast of the Mungyeong Saejae pass) to get to Hanyang (Seoul's name at the time), to take the scholastic (civil service) test. Students who scored high would be picked by the kings to work as a government employee. The statue shows how the applicants looked on their way to Hanynag for the test.
Amida Buddha
and Sakyamuni
Buddha.
These cultural treasures are from the Three
Kingdoms and Unified Silla Goryeo Dynasty. The name seems to translate as
"remember the sedentary light". The two seated Buddha's are posed very formally.
There are smaller Buddha carved in the halos of light around their faces. This
form of two Buddha carved side-by-side, in a rock face is rare. They are
presumed to be influenced by the Buddha of the Eastern Paradise and Sakyamuni
Buddha fables in the Lotus Sutra. The carved area is 12m high.Around another curve in the road a woman was tending her cabbage, one-by-one.
After Suambo, again, there is no
obvious accommodation for bicyclist for the next 16 km (ten mile). The
preferred route for bicycling is the old Hwy 3. It
generally has very light traffic volumes so the lack of any development of the
national network is not much of an issue. At Yeonpung the "bike route" passes
under the new Hwy 3 and heads up towards Ihwalyeong Pass as a real thing. In 2011 bike
lanes and several view points were added on both sides of the road up to the pass. On the corners
and sharp curves
the bike lanes are identified with red asphalt.
At Ihwalyeong Pass, elevation 529m (~1750 ft), the man with the big kochu (chili pepper) greets all visitors. This is the symbol of Goesan country, which is know for its chili pepper production.
Descending the east side of the pass is a breeze, but at the bottom, if you aren't diligent, before you know it, you will fly on to the new Hwy 3, without any easy escape. The solution, though it is not signed, is to turn left and pass under Hwy 3 just before the stealth on-ramp. Hopefully by the time the National Network is fully built out better signage will appear.
Outside
the park there is a ceramic museum with elegant pieces and informative
explanation. If you are confused about the differences between celadon,
porcelain and Buncheong ware this will help clear them up.
Conveniently
located where it would be nice to have an afternoon snack was this apple stand.
Right in the backyard was the orchard. The apples had been individual
wrapped in blue bags to keep them in pristine conditions. Blemished or
unblemished, they tasted just as crisp and sweet to me.
Rail-bike excursion for
tourists. The amusement goes for two kilometers along an abandon railroad.
Its along a river, but the road is between the tracks and the river so it is
actually a prettier ride on a bike than a rail-bike -- but it is not as novel.
Not far from the
rail-bikes is another ever so popular tourist attractions -- the "Mungyeong
Tourist Shooting Field" -- note the victim in the picture. It is highly
likely that something was
either lost or gained in the translation. "사격장" (sagyeogjang) could have
been translated as "rifle range".The rail-bike and rifle range are across the
road from a river. In a couple places there are signs illustrates the
aquatic life in the river.
The river side also make a great location for an open-sided pavilion. An the sunny afternoon and the pavilion made an excellent time for the local gentlemen's club to meet.
From
Mungyeongsaejae to Mungyeong (over 30 km, 18 miles) there are a variety of back
roads, farm roads, village roads, paved trails and virtually abandoned highways that can be
strung together for an esthetically enjoyable bike ride. Unfortunately, at
the present [2011] it is not signed, and best route is often close at hand but rarely obvious or intuitive.
From Mungyeong the national route follows the Nakdong River.
There is a trail along the river in Mungyeong but in recent years our
destinations in this region have not taken us south along the river so except for random
glimpse of paths running along the river as we crossed it at various points, we have no sequential
information on the national networks development in this area.
If you travel along the Nakdong River south of Mungyeong we would love to hear about what you find in the way of bicycle facilities, especially those that might be part of the national network.
Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park (the now forbidden route)
As we were turning back from the gate -- at the top -- we met a group of local visitor. Our disappointed looks must have raised questions in them. If we had argued the policy with the official, their position probably would have become more entrenched. But our new friends (left) didn't think our situation was fair, and they could discuss the matter Korea to Korea. Bless them. They negotiated an arrangement where we could pass, but we were to walk our bikes through the park. It sure beat dropping back down the mountain and going through another pass. As it is the route through the park is more than sufficiently interesting and beautiful that no one didn't mind spending a little more time at it -- walking.
Joryeong-gwan, 3rd gate:
This was a major transportation route dating back to the Three Kingdoms period
(18 BC-935 AD). The gate became strategically significant during the Goryeo
Kingdom (918-1392).
It is 4km of wooded road and streams to the next gate. Walking provided time to photograph and relax, listen to the natural sounds of wind and
water, too absorb the pure air, and enjoy the calm energy of the forest and mountains. There was almost on one else on the road.
Once upon a time, a man was passing by the cave when he was caught by a shower. When he walked in the cave to take a shelter he saw a woman had already taken shelter in the cave. The two passers-by developed an instant love in the cave and went their ways when the rain stopped.
Later, the woman conceived a boy from the encounter. After 10 years the son was ridiculed by his friends for having no father. The mother was obliged to tell her son exactly what happened and what his father looked like.
The son decided to take a walking tour of the country to locate his father. When the son was walking an trail in a deep gorge, he was caught in a shower and entered a road side tavern to spend the night. The boy doubled up his room with a middle-aged scholar who said to himself , "Oh, this rain feels like a saejaewoo," meaning a rain falling in Saejae. The son felt something special about "saejaewoo" and asked what he meant by "saejaewoo." At the invitation, the scholar told the son of the affair at the cave. The father and son went together to the boy's mother to live as a happy family ever after.
Still, people believe if a boy and a girl enter this cave together, they will develop a deep and long-lasting love.
Jogog-gwan, 2nd gate.
Possibly originally constructed in the Three Kingdoms period (18 BC - 935 AD).
Reconstructed by Chungwon civilian, Shin Chungwon, to stop the Japanese in 1592.
Fortified by King Sukjong (r 1674-1720) in 1708. The last restoration was in
1976.
Just
south of the gate is a large stream, that now has an ornate and elegant bridge.
If this wasn't the case in 1592, the stream would have provided an added
obstacle for an invading army trying to getting past the gate.
With
another five kilometers to the next gate we had more time to enjoy the natural
qualities of the environment.Below the second gate we were more walkers on the road, but minutes could pass without see another soul. For a weekday it seem like a significant number of people in the park, but it was far from crowded.
The belief is passers-by should lay a stone on the pagoda. It is said that scholars who laid stones here passed the government tests, weak persons who laid stones here became strong, merchants got prosperous and women who had not been able to conceive were able to conceive boys.
Juhul-gwan, the 1st gate. It was fortified by King Sukjong (r 1674-1720) in
1708. Unfortunately, this was more than 110 years after the Japanese had
already stormed through on their way to Seoul.
It was only between the parking lot and Juhul-gwan that we encounter a lot of people. Ironically, in this the most heavily used part of the park, there was a pretty steady stream of motor vehicles on the roadway, chasing the pedestrians off to the bushes or at least the very sides of the road. Theoretically, the road was closed to traffic and everyone was suppose to park in large parking lots further down. Somehow a lot of vehicles were getting exemptions, but there wasn't a clear pattern.
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