The Marmot’s Hole

The old yangban town of Yecheon is a place I used to know fairly well, having spent my first three years in Korea in neighboring Mungyeong. I hadn’t been back, however, in about nine years, so it was nice having the opportunity to revisit Saturday to shoot photos of one of my favorite scenic spots, the riverbend village of Hoeryong-po. It also gave me an excuse to visit Samgang Jumak, Korea’s last traditional pub/inn.

See Flickr slideshow here.

Yecheon-eup Office

It wouldn’t be a Marmot travelogue, however, without at least one colonial-era building.

Yecheon-eup office, built in 1932, is one of best preserved colonial-era district offices in Korea, and is certainly eye-catching architecturally, especially for those who like their colonial architecture in fire-engine red.

Yonggung Sundae Gukbap

While Gyeongsangbuk-do has a somewhat justified reputation for shite food, you can still find good stuff… if you know where you are. Yecheon’s Yonggung-myeon — a rustic, some might say podunk ex-yangban village near the border with Mungyeong — is well-known for its sundae, which uses real pig intestine and lots of delicious and probably healthy ingredients.

Here, we have sundae gukbap with squid pulgogi. Yum.

Hoeryong-po

If I had to come up with a list of my top five scenic views in Korea, Hoeryong-po would certainly be included.

Like its much more famous cousin, Andong’s Hahoe Village (and less famous Museom Village in Yeongju), Hoeryong-po is a beautiful riverbend village of the kind found along the meandering Nakdonggang River and its tributaries. The river, village, fields, mountains and sky harmonize to form a charming vista. Unlike Hahoe Village, though, it’s not overrun by tourists and tourist facilities. Last time I was here about nine years ago, hardly anyone outside of the immediate area even knew it existed. In recent years, Yecheon has been working hard to promote it as a domestic tourism site, so on a weekend, you’ll find a good many visitors, but nowhere near the amount you’ll find in Andong. If you’re looking for something “pristine,” this might fit the bill.

There’s not a whole lot to see in the village itself — also in contrast to ultra-yangban Hahoe Village, Hoeryong-po was and still is a small community of humble farmers (just nine families as of 2007) who grow rice, red peppers and watermellon.

That said, its got a beautiful sandy beach, and access to the village is limited to the so-called “Ppyongppyong Bridge,” made of scaffolding metal. The scenery is really quite beautiful, and extremely peaceful — nothing but the sound of the crystal clear water and cool autumn breeze.

BTW, the village is also known for its good fortune. Even during the Korean War, when much of the rest of Yecheon was blown to shit during the Battle of Yecheon (not a banner moment in race relations in the US military), the village wasn’t touched.

The Last Jumak

Last year, I read a piece in Weekly Chosun magazine on Samgang Jumak (”Three River Pub”), the last of Korea’s traditional pubs/inns. Such places of hospitality could be found all over old Korea, particularly on major travel routes for yangban going to the royal capital to take the civil service exam. Samgang Jumak — built about 100 years ago on the bank of the confluence of the Nakdonggang River and Naeseongcheon and Geumcheon streams — was run by a one Yoo Yok-yeon for about 70 years until she passed away at the age of 90 in 2005. After her death, the venerable institution was left empty and fell into a pretty sad state of disrepair until the county stepped in. Operated now by Yecheon-gun, it’s back doing what it used to do — serving makkeolli, dongdongju and Korean pub food.

The tree behind the pub, coincidentally, is about 200 years old.

Just behind the pub is the body of water that gives it its name. Prior to the 1960s, these rivers carried salt merchants to the villages of inner Gyeongsangbuk-do, and more to the point, provided pubs like Samgang Jumak with much of its custom. Even as late as 20 years ago, before the construction of the Samgang Bridge (seen above), crossing the Nakdonggang River from Mungyeong to Yecheon was done by ferry.