North Gyeongsang: Birthplace of Korean Confucianism

This is the last in a series featuring “must-see routes” for foreign tourists, developed by the Visit Korea Committee. A total of five routes spanning the country were presented over a three-month period. The series introduced a high-quality tour biweekly and was in conjunction with the nationwide campaign to promote the “2010-2012 Visit Korea Years.” — ED.

By Lee Hyo-sik

If you want to know how Confucian scholars and their families lived during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), there is no better place to visit than North Gyeongsang Province, the birthplace of Korean Confucianism.

Among many cities and counties, you are strongly encouraged to tour Andong where a Confucian village has remained intact for hundreds of years. Hahoe Village, one of Korea’s most popular and representative folk villages, is a one-clan community. It was designated in 2010 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Families of the Pungsan Ryu clan settled there one after another from the 16th century in the mid-Joseon Kingdom.

Their time-honored residences, Confucian school, and many other ancient buildings are preserved intact, together with their unique folk art, including the Hahoe Mask Dance Drama, called Byeolsin-gut, a shamanist rite venerating the tutelary of communal spirits.

While in Andong, visitors should also visit Byeongsan Seowon. Seowon is a memorial hall for Confucian services to honor distinguished scholars and statesmen. There, tourists can also take part in diverse cultural activities, such as making traditional Korean paper.

If you drive southeast from Andong, in about two hours you will arrive at the ancient city of Gyeongju. This was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) for nearly 1,000 years.

There are many historical sites to see across the city, including Bulguk Temple, Seokguram Grotto (Buddha statue) and Cheomseongdae (an astronomical observatory). The city is widely called an open-air museum.

By touring Gyeongju for a day or so, visitors will naturally discover how prosperous the Silla Kingdom, which unified the Korean Peninsula for the first time in history, was a thousand years ago.

“North Gyeongsang Province is a unique region full of surprises for both Korea and non-Korean tourists,” said Han Kyung-ah, executive director of the Visit Korea Committee. “Daegu, the provincial capital, is a sprawling city. The country’s third largest city offers foreign travelers with opportunities to experience what modern Korean cities are like.” She then recommended foreigners taste Jjimgalbi (spicy beef ribs), the dish most popular in Daegu, before departing for their next destination.

When travelers venture out of Daegu, a whole new world awaits them, Han said. “Small- and mid-sized towns across the province are the home to Korean Confucianism. In Andong, you can still see how residents of Hahoe Village have still maintained the same traditional lifestyle for hundreds of years. Visitors can also get a taste of unique local cuisine, using a variety of locally-produced ingredients, such as Jjimdak (steamed chicken).”

The executive director then strongly encouraged all foreign visitors to Korea to tour the ancient city of Gyeongju, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Korea. “The city is filled with dozens of valuable historical and cultural remains showcasing how Koreans lived during the Silla Kingdom period a thousand years ago. Visitors will be overwhelmed by the beauty of ancient Bulguk Temple, Seokguram Grotto and many other world-class cultural assets,” she said.

Attractions

Bulguk Temple:

Nestled in the western foothills of Mt. Toham, Bulguksa Temple is a monumental work of art recognized throughout the world for its excellence. It depicts profound Buddhist principles and the spirit of artistic genius in a unique way. The temple is a prime exemplar depicting Buddhist beliefs through architecture, manifesting an unparalleled architectural beauty difficult to find even in Asia. Its construction began in 751 by Gim Daeseong during the reign of King Gyeongdeok, and was completed in 774 during the reign of King Hyegong. The temple was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Seokguram Grotto:

Located at the summit of Mt. Toham, it is a man-made cave that was assembled from white granite. The main Buddha statue is seated on a sculptured octagonal lotus-shaped pedestal with eight pillars supporting the Buddha cut from a single piece of granite. The Buddha makes a hand-gesture, which symbolizes the call to witness the surrendering of evil by pointing his right index finger toward the earth.

Gyeongju National Museum:

With its well-organized collection of superlative Silla-era artifacts, the museum serves as a good guide, laying out systematic knowledge and information relating to Gyeongju. It is considered a must-see stop for tourists. The museum’s holdings include approximately 79,000 artifacts, 13 national treasures, and 26 natural treasures.

Yangdong Village:

This is a Korean folk village designated as Important Folk Material No. 189, located along the Hyeongsan River 20 kilometers northeast of Gyeongju. Established in the early Joseon Kingdom, the village shows the typical characteristics of communities of the period. Yangdong was created through a marriage between the Wolseong Son and Yeogang Yi families. The structure of the village is in harmony with the surrounding nature and divided into productive, living and ritual spaces, reflecting Confucian values.

Mt. Palgong:

This mountain, located 22 kilometers east of downtown Daegu, has been recognized as a holy mountain from ancient times. During the Silla Kingdom, Buddhist rituals were held on it for patriotism. Famous temples such as Donghwa Temple and Pagye Temple are located in every valley.

Hahoe Village:

Along with Yangdong Village in Gyeongju, Hahoe was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. Hahoe is the village where members of the Ryu family have lived together for 600 years. It is a representative village for one family where tile-roofed houses and thatched roofed ones have been quite well conserved for a long time.

Jirye Art Village:

The village, which opened in 1989, has been an excellent place to visit for both tourists and professional artists. Visitors can take part in a range of learning programs about traditional Korean culture throughout the village, while artists engage in artistic work in a conformable setting.

Byeongsan Seowon:

This Seowon (a Confucian school), one of top five Seowons built during the Joseon period, is of a representative Confucian architectural structure. It also serves as a memorial shrine for famous Confucian scholar Ryu Seong-ryong and his third son Ryu Jin. The place was used as a school by Ryu, and now houses his 1,000 works of literature and 3,000 books. When he died, local scholars enshrined a memorial tablet to him. As a leading local school for the memorial of masters and education, many scholars studied at this Seowon.

Cuisine

Jjimgalbi (spicy beef ribs):

This is a unique dish made of beef ribs. The ribs are put into a dented nickel-silver pot, then mixed with hot red pepper and sliced garlic. This has been the signature dish of Daegu since the 1970s, and is completely different from the steamed beef ribs that are made with soy sauce in other regions. You can mix the remaining seasoning, which has the characteristics of pepper and tastes hot, with rice. Additionally, unlike the steamed beef ribs of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Jjimgalbi has a unique taste that is hot and rather sweet, leaving your tongue burning.

Flat Mandu (dumpling):

The flat dumpling has almost no taste. It has glass noodles stuffed inside the thin dumpling layer and shaped in a half moon, which is boiled in water before being eaten with soy sauce. This was first introduced in Daegu about 40 years ago, and these days it has became a food enjoyed together with spicy vegetables. In order to remove the greasy taste of Chinese dumpling, it is a new kind of dumpling that is made with vegetable oil, and developed in Daegu in the early 1960s. It is characterized by putting in bits of glass noodles, leeks, carrots, cabbage and green onion.

Blowfish Bulgogi:

The blowfish is boned before it is mixed with bean sprouts and spicy seasoning, and then pan-fried like bulgogi. This dish was developed in a restaurant in Daegu about 20 years ago. The fish is cooked to be spicy, taking into consideration the preference of Daegu people, and it is popular as a dish served with alcoholic beverages. You can also fry rice with the remaining seasoning, or you can eat it by adding jjolmyeon (thick spicy noodles mixed with vegetables) or ramyeon. The bean sprouts used in the dish were bred in the region to have thinner stems, and it has now become a menu item that is served in most blowfish restaurants in Daegu.

Andong Jjimdak (steamed chicken):

Andong jjimdak is a variety of jjim (a Korean steamed or braised dish), made with chicken, various vegetables marinated in soy sauce. There are many theories concerning its origin. One is that it was a specialty food of the inner rich village of Andong during the Joseon period, prepared and eaten on special occasions. Another assumption is that in the chicken alley of the Andong Old Market, restaurant owners made a dish in the 1980s, which became the current Andong jjimdak. The most plausible story is that merchants of the Andong Old Market created the dish to keep their position against the rapid expansion of Western fried chicken shops.