Rediscovering Korea 'Hometown of the Heart Remaining as Nature, Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk' 1. The Crystal of Clean Bonghwa - Preview of the National Baekdudaegan Arboretum The second national arboretum in Korea, the largest in Asia, will be established in Bonghwa. It is currently under construction with the goal of opening in 2014, and its size will be 5,179ha, spanning three counties. It is six times the size of Yeouido. The National Baekdudaegan Arboretum in Bonghwa will systematically preserve, research, and turn into resources the plant species that inhabit Baekdudaegan, the core axis of the Korean Peninsula, and will become the world's first specialized forest seed storage facility that will store 1 million useful plant forest seeds from around the world. If this happens, Bonghwa will be in the spotlight as a place to save and restore extinct plants. Chunyang trees also grow here, forming colonies and receiving protection. Chunyang trees were used as the main material for our cultural assets in the past. The term 'eokjichunyang' is said to have originated from here, and these trees will be used for the preservation and repair of cultural assets in the future. We visit the planned site of Bonghwa's arboretum, which preserves the clean nature of Bonghwa together with Chunyangmok. 2. The sky is also Sepyeong, the flower garden is also Sepyeong... A simple station where only longing is wide There are 12 simple stations left in Bonghwa. In the old days, before the roads were built, there were many places where cars could not go, so trains served as the residents' legs. However, now, there are fewer people using it, and there are many stations where people do not get on or off. At Seungbu Station, one of Bonghwa's simple stations, a station worker's writing, "The sky is also Sepyeong, the flower garden is also Sepyeong, the heart of Yeongdong and the artery of transportation," greets visitors. Although it is a remote area, the writing shows pride in the role of the station. Now, only five or six households live in the village, and there are many days when less than 10 people use the train a day, but we visit a simple station where memories have filled the empty space. 3. Bonghwa's Little Geumgangsan - Cheongnyangsan With its 12 peaks of rocky cliffs and the Nakdong River winding around the magnificent cliffs, Cheongnyangsan has been nicknamed $#39Little Geumgang$#39 for its beauty since ancient times. Because of its beauty, scholars often visited it, and there are over 1,000 pieces of travelogues written by scholars such as Yi Hwang after visiting the mountain. Toegye even said, "You can't be a scholar without visiting Cheongnyangsan." Cheongnyangsan was also a natural fortress where King Gongmin of Goryeo fled during the Red Turban Rebellion, and traces of King Gongmin remain here and there. There is still a shrine where King Gongmin's memorial tablet is enshrined and a memorial service is held, and a statue of Princess Noguk, King Gongmin's wife, is enshrined in Eungjinjeon. Let's go hiking in Little Geumgangsan, which holds such beautiful nature and many stories. 4. A place where the tradition of scholars remains - Mansan House, Cheongamjeong Bonghwa has beautiful nature as well as the breath of scholars of high integrity. Mansan House, located at the entrance of the pretty Oesibeoseon-gil, is a 99-kan house that was built in 1878 (the 15th year of King Gojong’s reign) by Mansan Kang Yong-seonsaeng who gave up his government post and returned to his hometown when the Eulsa Treaty was signed in 1905. The signboard is a name that Daewongun personally gave Mansan, meaning that he would become a great man of great talent. The most beautiful building in Mansan House is Chilyuheon. Mansan-seonsaeng came down to his hometown and worked with scholars to restore national sovereignty. It is said that the number seven signifies the cycle of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and contains his wish that the national fortune of Joseon would be restored just as the fortunes of heaven and earth cycle. Also, in Bonghwa Dalsil Village, which Lee Jung-hwan selected as one of the four major auspicious places in Yeongnam in his book Taekriji, you can see the beautiful Cheongamjeong, which is said to be one of the top 10 pavilions in Korea. 5. Warm hospitality is a bonus - Bonghwa Market, which comes and goes. Bonghwa Market, which has a 100-year tradition, is an oil market that opens on the 2nd and 7th of every month. It is a place where people smile with seasonal wild vegetables and agricultural products. Since ancient times, Bonghwa Market has been crowded with people from Yeongwol, Samcheok, Uljin, Andong, and Yecheon, so much so that there was even a catchphrase, “Bonghwa Market, which comes and goes.” One of the unique aspects of Bonghwa Market is the free performances by merchants. They perform on stage for those who come to the market, and at the first folk art auction market in Korea, folk art auctions are held, and the market is bustling with people carrying old items and people watching. The reason for opening this folk art auction market was to leave behind the data of each village that was disappearing and create a historical museum. So, they say that they receive one by one the items brought in without charging a fee and stack them up, and we visit Bonghwajang, which has warm hospitality and a unique attraction. 6. Natural taste and fragrance, pine mushrooms In the fall, Bonghwa becomes busy preparing for pine mushroom picking. Bonghwa pine mushrooms grow on the sandy soil over 400m above sea level in Baekdudaegan, drinking cool valley water of class 1, and are said to be firm and have an excellent fragrance. In fact, they are so popular that they are traded at a higher price than pine mushrooms in other regions, and in Bonghwa, there is a saying that "in the fall, pine mushrooms grow even on the ridges of rice fields in Bonghwa, and even dogs walk around carrying pine mushrooms in their beaks", so much so that the production is high. We visit Bonghwa's pine mushroom picking site and pine mushroom festival site. 7. One house, one village - Hapgang There are still many places in Bonghwa that people often call remote areas. The word 'Oji (奧地)', which means a remote village in the mountainous inland, refers to a rough and desolate land deep in the mountains, but when you break down the Chinese characters, it uses the character '아라목 오 (奧)'. And among its meanings, in addition to '아라목', it also means '그그하다' or '겨울'... Perhaps that is why the remote village conveys something warm to those who visit it. It is a place where one house becomes a village. There used to be about 10 households, but now there is a village with only one house where a couple in their 70s live. We go into the life of the old couple who came here during the Korean War and worked as boatmen and have never left the village. 8. Wow, I'll go first. I'll make you do it all - Warangsori The movie 'Worangsori' depicts the warm affection between an 80-year-old man and a 40-year-old cow. The filming location of Warangsori is Hanul-ri, Sangun-myeon, Bonghwa-gun. There is a small park in the village, which says 'Worangsori, I'll go first. The grandfather's words, "Just work hard and don't be afraid," are also engraved on the stone. The old cow in the movie died after filming, so you can also see the cow grave that the grandfather made. After the cow died, the grandfather is said to have brought another cow, and now the barn is empty. Like the sound of a warang disappearing, leaving behind a sad lingering feeling, we look back on our hometown that is now disappearing. #RediscoveringKorea #Bonghwa #SimpleStation