The Marmot’s Hole

This Lunar New Year took me back to Kangjin City, in Kangjin County, which is the home of the poet Kim Yun-sik “Young Rang” and the place of exile for Jeong Yak-Yong, aka “Dasan” (Tea Mountain), who was one of the most prolific writers and scholars of the Chosun Dynasty.  The above picture is of a partly restored Chosun-era school house named “Kum-seo-dang” 금서당(琴書堂) — now a tea house — that was home to a renowned Korean painter, Kim Yong Ryeol 김영렬 (Wan Hyang).  Kim Yong Ryeol’s personal history is somewhat tragic.  His grandfather was a Donghak Rebellion leader that committed suicide. 

Kangjin is historically interesting because it has been the source of Korean porcelain since the Koryo period and was where all exported porcelain came from. 

To see more pictures from my short visit, try clicking here.  For more pictures from the same places (pictures of some of Kim’s paintings too) try here and here.