Choe Chi-won's Reading Voice and the Eaves of Joseon: From Jacheondae Pavilion at Okgu Hyanggyo to Sangjusa Temple and Eunjeoksa Temple

Okgu-eup in southwestern Gunsan is a place steeped in the birth legend and scholarly traces of Goun Choe Chi-won (857–?), a great scholar of late Silla. 'Jacheondae Pavilion', a wooden pavilion in the grounds of Okgu Hyanggyo, is said to be where the young Choe Chi-won stayed and read. It is provincially designated cultural heritage material, with a legend that his reading voice was heard even by the Chinese emperor.

Right beside Jacheondae Pavilion, 'Daeseongjeon Hall of Okgu Hyanggyo (Confucian School)', with a gable roof 3 bays wide and 2 bays deep, enshrines the spirit tablets of Confucius and Confucian sages and shows a neat dignity. Also look around 'Munchang Seowon (Confucian Academy)' on nearby Gwangwol-gil (named after Marquis Munchang, Choe Chi-won's posthumous title) and 'Oksanwon' in Sangpyeong-ri (built in 1929, enshrining Choe Chi-won and 14 local sages). Then you can read at a glance the intellectual history of the Okgu Confucian scholars over a thousand years.

To find the quiet eaves of traditional Korean temples, in contrast to the Japanese-style temple Dongguksa Temple in the old downtown, head to the mountainsides of Seosu-myeon, Napo-myeon and Soryong-dong. 'Daeungjeon Hall of Sangjusa Temple' in Seosu-myeon is a Joseon-period wooden Buddha hall rebuilt in 1641 (the 19th year of King Injo), a provincially designated tangible cultural heritage. Its multi-cluster brackets, ornate but not extravagant, and the fine wood carving of the canopy above the altar are the highlights.

'Daeungjeon Hall of Buljusa Temple' on the slopes of Chwiseongsan Mountain in Napo-myeon is also a Joseon-period Buddha hall with a hip-and-gable roof, 3 bays wide and 2 bays deep (a provincially designated tangible cultural heritage). It keeps the stillness of a deep mountain temple. If you want somewhere close to downtown, 'Eunjeoksa Temple', a thousand-year-old temple on the slopes of Seollimsan Mountain in Soryong-dong (49 Seollim 3-gil), is a welcome find. It is open 07:00–18:00 every day, so it is easy to stop by on a walk in Wolmyeong Park.

The place that turns Gunsan's clock back to the Three Kingdoms period is 'Oseongsan Mountain', which rises 227 m above sea level in Seongsan-myeon. On the summit ridge lie side by side the five tombs of the five generals (the Five Sages) who fought to the end for their country and died when Baekje fought the Silla-Tang allied forces in 660.

A road runs to near the summit, so access is easy. From the summit observatory, the slow-flowing Geumgang estuary, the Napo fields and the West Sea spread out in a panorama, and it counts among the leading spots for sunrise and sunset.

These heritage sites fall into two broad areas. If you are on the way southwest to the Gogunsan Islands or Bieung Port, it is efficient to group Jacheondae Pavilion, Daeseongjeon Hall of Okgu Hyanggyo (Confucian School), Munchang Seowon (Confucian Academy) and Oksanwon in Okgu-eup into one course.

If you are traveling around the Geumgang Estuary Bank or Impi Station in the northeast, climb to the top of Oseongsan Mountain for a view of the Geumgang River. Then visit the Daeungjeon Hall of Buljusa Temple in Napo-myeon and the Daeungjeon Hall of Sangjusa Temple in Seosu-myeon in turn for a smooth route.