Destination: Ojukheon black bamboo forest / Gangneung city museum (Gangneung, Gangwon-do)

Gangwon-do’s east coast is full of tourist attractions – beyond the numerous beaches, I was delighted to learn of this place from Kiwi. Take a close look at this guy’s face, then stare at the 5,000 won bill (about $4.63 USD). It’s the same guy: Yulgok Yi Yi (율곡이이). Take a look for yourself (and note the black bamboo on the front):

It gets better, though – if you’ve seen Korea’s relatively new 50,000 won bill (about $46 USD), you’ve seen his mother, Shin Saim-dang:

If you look carefully at the front, you’ll see a painting of grapes – one of her paintings. On the back is another drawing of a Maehwado (Japanese apricot flower) done by Yulgok’s sister.

It’s a little difficult to classify this place – on one hand, it’s a shrine to a philosopher and an accomplished mother, a memorial that houses some of the family’s creative works, and a forest of black bamboo. Add to this the Gangneung City Museum (which houses a fair number of statues and other relics from the area), which just happens to be found on the site as well. One admission (3,000 won) gets you into the site, and there’s enough to see to fill an afternoon.

A close up of the aforementioned apricot tree, which was supposedly planted when Ojukheon (오죽헌) was first built around 1450. The stone tablet next to it claims its age as 600 years, which will be true… eventually…

The black bamboo – 오죽 (o-juk) or Phyllostachys nigra if you prefer the Latin.

Two of the main buildings from the early Joseon Dynasty; though torn down as part of a redevelopment project, it was restored in 1996. The building on the right is a sarangchae, or a place for guests to stay. Here, the guests were supposedly males from Yulgok’s mother’s family.

A couple of things to enjoy inside the 어제각 (eo-je-gak) – a structure built specifically to store these artifacts. With Yulgok being a famous philosopher and writer, King Jeongjo ordered Yulgok’s ink stone brought to the palace. There, Jeongjo inscribed a message on the back of the ink stone and ordered the Gangwon-do governor to preserve these materials.

Now getting into Gangneung’s museum territory, we came across a row of statues – this turtle-shaped pedestal was unearthed in 1965. While no date is mentioned, other artifacts date back to the Unified Silla and Goryeo Dynasty.

The souvenir store was a change of pace, but nothing really distinct to the area.

 

The Local Folklore Hall – in other words, a chance to see how the other half lived. The scene seemed to bring every possible thing together into one diorama – everything from this odd arrangement of humans to a wedding to a musical performance.

떡살 – rice cake patterns or molds. Why? Why do people buy cake molds of Spiderman for a five-year-old’s birthday party?  It’s a nice break from otherwise plain rice cakes.

The classic wooden geese (목기라기), given by a husband to his bride as a sign of fidelity.

Shin Saim-dang – mother to Yulgok, a poet, calligrapher, embroidery, and so on. She’s also held up as one of the best examples of a Korean mother. Her maternal grandfather gave her the same education a boy would’ve received; after getting married at age 19, she spent much of her time caring for her parents.

The next area to meander – the History and Culture Hall:

A headless marble seated Buddha, found in Hansongsa.

Some of Shin Saim-dang’s extant drawings – the bamboo (대나무) and grapes (포도), under just enough light to be visible.

Plenty of trees on the eastern side and a beautiful pond.

It’s a perfectly pleasant with plenty to offer the tourist. An embroidery museum is appropriately nearby, and there’s plenty of English signs to make learning the history a bit easier. It’s a bit remote, however, and definitely not on the normal tourist trail – in fact, Kiwi and I were the only two foreigners we saw the whole afternoon. It’s worth the visit if you’re in the area, and is a nice alternative to the beaches if the weather isn’t cooperating.

Ratings (out of 5 taeguks): How do I rate destinations?
Ease to arrive:

Foreigner-friendly:

Convenience facilities:

Worth the visit:

Directions to Ojukheon (오죽헌): we never did find out the local bus’s number or schedule, although there are two bus stops nearby. The brochure says to take a bus in the direction of Gyeongpo, Gangneung University, or Jumunjin. Your easiest choice is a taxi – catch one from Gangneung Bus Terminal for about 4,000 won. Admission: 3,000 won. Hours: 8am-6pm (summertime), 8am-5:30pm (wintertime) – ticket office closes 1/2 hour before closing time.

Creative Commons License © Chris Backe – 2011
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.