Chances that anybody will come onto my blog looking for a map of Goejeong and Daeti are pretty slim, but I made this picture for 2 friends of friends that have moved into the area and thought I should share my 'hard' work. It was kind of like a trip down memory lane actually. Good ol' Daeti :-)


Click to enlarge

Gongsanseong (공산성) does not rank high on the 'most seen by foreigners' list. Then again, neither does the city of Gongju. Naturally, the Lady in Red and I had to check it out.

Originally called Ungjinseong, the mud fortress was used by King Munjuwang (reigned 475-477 A.D.) as the Baekje capital during the Baekje Dynasty. In 538 A.D., however, King Seong moved the capital to present-day Buyeo, although Gongju remained fairly important (and close to the capital) until the Baekje Dynasty collasped in 667 A.D.

The fortress was rebuilt with stones during the Joseon Dynasty, and King Injo hid here for a short time as well.



You'll pass a number of stele, or monuments, while walking towards the front gate. Most are modern-day recreations, but this one dates from 1817 to give thanks for a rebuilt bridge. After Jemincheongyo (the bridge) was washed away by Jemincheon (the creek), the town couldn't afford the rebuild. They ended up raising funds from the nearby towns of Buyeo and Yeongi, and rebuilt the bridge in August 1817.



The main, tourist-friendly, entrance - Geumseoru Pavilion, or the West Gate. The original was destroyed to make way for the construction of roads, but was rebuilt in 1993.



Walk along the wall of the fortress - the perimeter holds the most interesting sights, and the most recreations.



You got me here. The signs that explained the gates and pavilions didn't bother to explain the flags.



Looking into the valley protected by the fortress walls - a fairly major construction or excavation project. Not pictured are some booths still under construction - an indication that the area is getting a makeover of some kind.



From 1708, the monument remembers how King Injo stayed at Gongsanseong to avoid the riot by Yi Gwal. In 1623, Yi Gwal was part of a coup that dethroned Gwanghaegun to make Injo king, and almost every other major leader of the coup was called to court. Yi Gwal's 'reward' was to command his troops against the Manchus coming from the North. Yi Gwal responded in 1624 by bringing over 12,000 troops back to Hanseong (present-day Seoul), forcing Injo to flee while Yi Gwal took over the city. King Injo supposedly stayed in Gongju for 6 days to wait out the fighting,



What's going on here? A field surrounded by a fence? The nearby sign reveals this to be the 'presumed site of a palace'. A leveling in the 1930's and excavations in 1985-86 uncovered many relics, including large building sites, lotus-patterned roof tiles, and holes to indicate building posts. In other words, something was here - but nothing's been reconstructed yet.



Originally built in 1734, this pavilion commemorates two trees being appointed 'high government officials'. Wait, what? When Injo fled to Gongsanseong, he waited for news under two trees; after the rebellion was taken care of, he gave the two trees their new appointment and ordered the fortress to be called Ssangsuseong. Why? He's the King - who needs a reason? The pavilion was built where those two trees once stood.



Following the perimeter of the fortress around to the South Gate, or Jinnamru. Not pictured is the very modern view of Gongju you'll get looking from the fortress towards the horizon.




One highlight of the fortress - Imnyugak Pavilion. Originally built in 500 A.D., it was supposedly used as a reception hall for the king and his subjects. The replica, created in 1993, is simply huge - and nicely painted. Each of the two floors could easily hold dozens of people.

Winding out the sights is Yeongeunsa, a temple originally built in 1458. The temple's claim to fame? The lecture hall was used as living space for monks fighting during the 1592 Japanese invasion. A temple probably existed before that, since six Buddha statues were found from the United Silla period (668 - 935 A.D.), but there's no information on where they're displayed today.



A Lotus Pond, or yeonji, near the aforementioned temple - located right next to the Geumgang river. It was excavated and restored from 1982-83, and features an interesting color of water.

The fortress is quite interesting, easy to get around, and offers plenty of English-language signs. The area is still being improved, possibly part of a drive to increase tourism, so don't be too surprised if you see a few new buildings. Although the views of the city take away from the natural scenery, it's just as easy to look inward towards what's been preserved. By itself, it's worth a day trip to Gongju - just don't expect to see many other foreigners while there.

Ratings (out of 5 taeguks):
Ease to arrive:

Foreigner-friendly:

Convenience facilities:

Worth the visit:


Directions to Gongsanseong (from Seoul): Get thee to the Express Bus Terminal (lines 2, 7, or 9 on the Seoul subway system). Take a bus to Gongju - it's about two hours away, so buy a snack and drink for the bus. Once you've arrived at the Gongju bus terminal, take a cheap taxi (~3,000 won) to Gongsanseong, or cross the river and walk for about 3 kilometers to the entrance. Bus 100 stops in front of the parking lot of Gongsanseong, but I have no idea where to get on from. Admission 1,200 won for adults; open 9 am - 6 pm.

© Chris Backe - 2010

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.

OK, so I wrote about visa reform. A version got published in the Korea Times, debated about on Brian in Jeollanam-do and another post on this blog. If you've been reading along, feel free to skip the links - if not, click before continuing.

Kushibo wrote a response on his excellent blog, where he asked a couple interesting questions:

And as much as I commend Chris for the thought he put into the issue, he is missing the boat on the issue of E2 visa portability by not addressing the two points I brought up here: South Korean egalitarianism ideal (which works against legalizing and legitimizing a kind of service perceived to give the upper classes even more of an edge) and 시원보증 ("legally guaranteeing one's sponsoree") which is a key issue blocking visa portability (and which is the main reason why people can get work visas in weeks rather than years).

...

So, to summarize, Jeopardy-style: South Korea's egalitarianism ideal and the foreign national-guaranteeing function of visa sponsorship?

I was all set to type a comment on the aforementioned post - but it came out longer than the 4,096 character limit allowed on Blogger comments. I've copied and pasted it below for his (and your) consideration.

Kushibo,
To be perfectly honest, I hadn't thought about your two points when writing the thousands of words about visa reform. Since reading your well-written comments and having had some commuting time to dwell on them, here's a partial response.

Regarding the egalitarian ideals: where might they be found? In everyday life, Koreans compare the schools their children go to, the cars they drive, the apartments they live in, the companies they work for, and the universities they went to. Everything has a ranking, a number, a rating - and EVERYTHING is better or worse than something else. When you first meet someone, you're sizing them up - how old are they? Where did they go to college? - to figure out who is 'senior' and 'junior' in the relationship.

The Confucian mindset that permeates Korea does not allow "equals" - to claim an egalitarian ideal in the same implies that people are ok with being "equal" to their neighbor. I'd beg to differ - they want to have a nicer [noun], a better [noun], and so on.

Regarding 시원보증 ("legally guaranteeing one's sponsoree"): I don't know enough about this concept to know whether this is a legal issue, a cultural issue, or one where the status quo has been preserved because it's the status quo. To be honest, this is the first time I've ever heard about it, or at least the Korean term for it. Please allow my admittedly ignorant perspective to continue :)

If you want people to do things legally, you take steps to make it easier than the illegal way. That's one reason, perhaps, why you have legitimate trash bags you can buy at every convenience store instead of just the district office. Even if few, if any, are fined for improper trash disposal, it's essentially as easy to be legal than to stuff everything in E-mart bags and walk away.

The same mindset can go with Immigration, and one possible solution need not be complex or overly bureaucratic. As I understand it, a F-series visa holder or Korean that wishes to offer private lessons needs to register with a district (gu) office (please correct if wrong!). For tax purposes, the registration would be made as easy as possible, with the expectation that one's income from such lessons would be reported. Penalties can be meted out according to the tax code, including back taxes owed or jail time in an extreme case. The Korean tax system may not approach the American IRS in intimidation, but it can best hand out penalties related to underpayment of taxes.

The idea of 'guaranteeing one sponsoree' seems a bit obsolete. What are we worried will happen? A foreigner will somehow become destitute and try to apply for the Korean equivalent of food stamps? You'd have to have some help to navigate that system - implying you're not entirely without resources.

It's not as if your employer is going to bail you out of jail after a drunken fight - most contracts explicitly state the contract is terminated if you break the laws of Dae Han Min Guk. From that point forward, your now-former employer has no responsibilities to you, and will likely refuse any responsibility or requests for assistance. If one's employer were to *actually* 'guarantee' their employee's behavior, or take responsibility for their actions, I might be willing to accept this concept more readily. They don't. The only 'insurance' they might provide is someone to call to say they won't be teaching tomorrow's class. That's not insurance, or a guarantee.

What you'd need is a system set up to assist foreigners in a given country - assisting them out if they've broken the laws and deserve to be deported, or advocating / guaranteeing for them in case of some less-serious incident. Perhaps the answer is a required insurance / pre-paid legal assistance system. I'd gladly allow 100,000 won / month deducted for a system that allowed access to a native-language-speaking lawyer, and/or the 'guarantor' that allows for visa portability.

Kushibo, you're right about the issues that have stymied the system in the past. I don't claim to have all the answers, and I certainly don't claim to understand all the historical contexts that come up. But ways forward are definitely what interest me - and there are plenty of them.

© Chris Backe - 2010

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.