[One Day Walk] The Path Walked by Officer Park Munsu... Anseong Course 40

14km from Chiljangsa to Geumgwang Lake

The Anseong 40 Course of the Gyeonggi Dullegil trail stretches from Chiljangsa Temple, over Chilhyunsan Mountain, to Geumgwang Lake. Although it is a 14 km walk, it takes 6 hours because you have to cross the mountain, making it a challenging course. However, it attracts many travelers with its magnificent scenery and various stories.

Chiljangsa Temple, where the journey begins, is said to have been founded by the monk Jajang during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla. The archery range where Gung Ye practiced archery and the Nahanjeon Hall, where Inspector Park Mun-su prayed and passed the highest civil service exam, are famous. The story related to Park Mun-su goes like this: Young Park Mun-su stayed overnight at Chiljangsa while on his way to Hanyang to take the civil service exam. After praying at Nahanjeon, he went to sleep and dreamed that Buddha appeared and revealed the exam topic along with seven lines of poetry. Later, when Park Mun-su arrived at the exam site, the topic was exactly the same as in his dream. He passed first place, known as 'mongjungdeunggwasi (夢中登科詩).' Even today, the Park Mun-su Pass Bridge at the entrance of Chiljangsa welcomes visitors.

There is also a legend about the name Chiljangsa. Early in the Goryeo Dynasty, the monk Hyeso stayed at this temple, and seven thieves repented and became his disciples. They diligently practiced and became 'Nahan,' the highest level of Buddhist practitioners. Since then, the temple has been called Chiljangsa, and the mountain behind it Chilhyunsan.

Chiljangsa houses must-see cultural assets. Outside the Iljumun Gate stands a cheoldanggan, an iron flagpole. 'Dang' means flag, and 'gan' means flagpole. Usually, gan is made of wood, but sometimes stone or iron is used. There are only a few iron danggan in Korea. In addition, there are treasures such as the Daeungjeon Hall, the Hyeso Guksa Stele, and the Sambulhoe Gwaebultang (large Buddhist painting).

After touring Chiljangsa grounds and entering the forest, you ascend Chilhyunsan Mountain (516m). Following the trail over Chilhyunsan leads to Geumgwang Lake. Geumgwang Reservoir, built to secure agricultural water, was the largest artificial lake in Korea when completed in 1961. There is a deck path along Geumgwang Lake. Walking while viewing the lake naturally makes one recite a line of poetry by Park Du-jin, a poet from Anseong. To honor the famous Cheongnokpa poet, the Park Du-jin Literary Trail was created around the lake. In Bopyeong-ri, Bogae-myeon, Anseong City, there is also the Park Du-jin Literature Museum in the Citizen’s Park.