[Joyongjun's Travel Journey] Walking the Fortress Wall... Overlooking Daecheong Lake Shore ~ Early Summer Cheongju

Cheongju Journey - Sangdang Fortress, Suamgol, Daecheong Lake Shore, Samgyeopsal Street and More Attractions and Food

The walking trail around the walls of Sangdang Fortress is gentle and beautiful. Walking along the fortress path that gracefully rises and falls along the ridge naturally brings a feeling of healing.

Morning scenery of Byeongcheoncheon with water mist rising

Daechung Lake shore and the overlapping mountains viewed from the Daeungbojeon Hall of Hyeonamsa Temple

Suamgol

Drive Road Along Daecheong Lake Shore

[Asia Economy, Reporter Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist] We drive along the winding Daecheongho Lakeside Road. The breeze passing by the window feels warm. The season has quietly entered early summer. We head to Sangdang Fortress, a sanctuary for the citizens of Cheongju, Chungbuk. The fortress, located at the highest point in Cheongju, is only about ten minutes away from the city center, contrary to the weight its name suggests. The walking trail around the fortress walls is gentle and beautiful. Walking along the fortress path that flexibly rises and falls following the ridgeline, you can momentarily forget about COVID-19 and immerse yourself in nature. There is more. Hyeonamsa Temple on Guryongsan Mountain, named after the mountain range where nine dragons gather, offers an exceptional view. Standing in front of the Daeungbojeon Hall, you can experience a magnificent scene where the layered mountains surrounding Daecheongho look like islands floating in the water. The alleys of Suamgol are excellent for walking. Suamgol is a hillside village decorated with murals. Even the coal briquette ashes placed in the alleys are painted with faces and speech bubbles, bringing a smile. Around this time, the Musimcheon Stream in the city and Byeongcheon Stream in Oksan-myeon create a spectacular view every morning with rising water mist.

Sangdang Fortress is a representative attraction of Cheongju. The fortress is a sanctuary for Cheongju citizens, located just about ten minutes outside the city center. Originally built as an earthen fortress during the Baekje period, it was rebuilt as a sturdy stone fortress in the late Joseon Dynasty after experiencing the Imjin War and the Byeongja Horan invasions. However, Sangdang Fortress has no notable battle records or victories of historical figures. Although built tall and strong, it only played the role of 'standing' in history. After more than 300 years, the fortress became a path. The fortress path, winding gently along the ridgeline, transformed from its original defensive purpose into a gentle trail for the joy of walking. Climbing Sangdang Mountain, which is less than 500 meters above sea level, you can find this 4 km path circling the fortress walls.

The first impression of Sangdang Fortress is cozy and warm rather than grand and majestic. The spacious lawn plaza outside the fortress but feeling like inside, in front of the South Gate, and the well-maintained forest are ideal resting places for citizens.

Although fewer citizens visit due to COVID-19, the sight of families, friends, and couples spreading mats and chatting is heartwarming.

You can enter the fortress from the South Gate, Gongnammun (控南門), the East Gate, Jindongmun, or the West Gate, Mihomun. You can start anywhere if you want to walk around the fortress and return to your starting point. Walking the entire fortress takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Entering Gongnammun and climbing the gate tower, overlooking the spacious lawn plaza and Nangseong-myeon direction, you feel a solemn atmosphere as if the spirit of the fortress commander guarding the fortress lingers. The first step from the South Gate to the West Gate is a slope. Along the ridgeline, one side of the steep fortress wall is a vertical cliff about 4 to 5 meters high. Around this time, when the greenery deepens, the shadow falls on one side of the fortress wall, making the walking path pleasant. After a short walk, small benches and resting spots are available here and there. If the midday sun is harsh, you can rest in the forest. Walking step by step, peeking through the windows in the fortress wall at enemy positions, you soon reach a ridge overlooking the city. From the ridge, you can either return the way you came or follow the fortress wall west to north to reach the West Gate, Mihomun. You can see Ochang Science Park and Oksan at a glance.

Sangdang Fortress is not only about walking on the fortress walls. On the faded Sangdang Fortress road, a premium path called 'Sangdang Fortress Old Road' has also been established.

After walking around the fortress wall, taste the specialty tofu dishes in the Hanok Village inside the fortress. Although most buildings have been converted into restaurants, making it hard to find the charm of traditional Hanok, the scenery along the hill below the East Gate of the fortress is heartwarming. Among the restaurants, 'Sangdangjip' is quite well-known. The sons, inheriting their mother's taste who used to run a chicken baeksuk (boiled chicken) restaurant, make tofu, cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste), and biji-jang (soybean paste) themselves. The cheonggukjang stew is thick, with a mild unique smell and savory taste. Be sure to take the free biji provided when you leave. Sitting on the floor, enjoy a simple fortress path after-party with tofu kimchi and a glass of Makgeolli.

The alleys of Suamgol, the mural village, are also excellent for walking. Suamgol was a village where refugees gathered during the Korean War (6.25). The shabby and poor hillside village became a famous spot entirely due to murals and TV dramas. Although there are many alleys with murals painted on walls across the country, what makes this place special compared to other mural villages is that the paintings brighten and illuminate the dark alleys. Warm smiles are naturally spread on the outer walls and fences.

The alleys of Suamgol are arranged in the shape of the Chinese character '田' (field), so there is no worry about getting lost wherever you go. Just use the paintings on the walls as landmarks while walking.

Each painting, whether a child happily wearing a raincoat and umbrella, a child laughing broadly showing teeth, or grandmothers gathered under a tree, expresses personality uniquely, whether large or rough. Below the wall painted with grandmothers, a bench is placed warmly. The wall is filled with another scene of a hillside village, and some houses have blue skies and fluffy clouds painted, erasing the boundaries between gates and walls. Walking along these walls, you might feel like strolling through a fairy tale book. Standing at the viewpoint at the end of the village, you can see the modest hillside village and the entire Cheongju cityscape at a glance.

One more place to introduce is Hyeonamsa Temple on Guryongsan Mountain, encountered while following the Daecheongho Lakeside Road. The temple is located on the waist of Guryongsan Mountain, overlooking the blue waters of Daecheongho. It offers the most beautiful viewpoint overlooking Daecheongho.

Parking your car at the parking lot below the lakeshore of Daecheongho, climbing the iron stairs, passing the dirt path, and walking for just 20 minutes, you can meet the shimmering Daecheongho covered in greenery. Standing in front of the Daeungbojeon Hall of Hyeonamsa, which has a courtyard carved out of the steep cliff of Guryongsan Mountain, named after the mountain range where nine dragons gather, you can see the layered mountains floating like islands around the full reservoir of Daecheongho. Even just reaching Hyeonamsa is wonderful, but if you continue to the summit of Guryongsan, Satgatbong Peak, you can stand in a place overlooking all the mountain ridges surrounding the lake. Although it is only 373 meters high, the view from that height is so impressive it feels humbling.

Cheongju = Text and photos by Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist jun21@asiae.co.kr

◇Travel Notes

△Getting there=Use the Gyeongbu or Jungbu Expressway, take the Cheongju Interchange, then take National Route 36 passing the provincial government office. Turn left at Young Plaza (formerly Cheongju Department Store), pass the National Cheongju Museum and City Hall, and you will reach the road to Suamgol and Sangdang Fortress.

△Food=Seomun Market, Cheongju's first market, has the nation's only street specializing in Samgyeopsal (pork belly). Each restaurant grills samgyeopsal on a charcoal brazier grill or serves it with soy sauce, green onion salad, seasoned green onions, or green onion kimchi. Jjageuli in Oksan-myeon, known as a popular restaurant near Teje-Bae CC, surprises with its mild and deep flavor. In Munui-myeon, where Cheongnamdae is located, there are several restaurants serving Ureong Ssambap (rice wrapped in fresh greens with freshwater snails). Bipa Seafood Kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup) by the Musimcheon Stream in the city is famous for its generous seafood and chewy noodles.

△Attractions=Cheongnamdae, used as a presidential retreat for over 20 years, and the Daecheongho Lakeside Drive are great. There are also the Movable Metal Type Museum, National Cheongju Museum, Munui Cultural Heritage Complex, Seongan-gil, and Sangsu Herb Land.