Seonmongdae Pavilion and Surroundings, Yecheon

Seonmongdae Pavilion and its surroundings, Yecheon, is a place of long standing recorded in the Yecheon-eupji, a gazetteer of Yecheon, with a history of some 450 years, and it is one of the representative scenic spots along the Naeseongcheon Stream that display Korea's traditional beauty of mountains and waters. Seonmongdae Pavilion was founded by Yi Goeng (1515–1573), a nephew of Toegye Yi Hwang who served as station master of Girindo, and was passed down to his son Yi Yeol-do (pen name Uam, 1538–1591). The characters "Seonmongdae" are said to be in Toegye [Yi Hwang]'s own hand, and inscriptions of poems written by Seoae Ryu Seong-nyong, Yakpo Jeong Tak, Yi Deok-hyeong and others remain throughout the site, making it a scenic spot of great historical significance as a space of Confucian tradition handed down by earlier scholars. The woodland of Seonmongdae has a long history and has served as a flood-defence forest, a windbreak, and a sugumak forest, planted to block a watercourse and so protect a village from floods or make up for a geomantic weakness, as well as a bibo forest, planted to compensate for a geomantic shortcoming. The area around Seonmongdae has the geomantic form known as pyeongsa-nagan, "wild geese alighting on a sandbank," in which geese feed in the Naeseongcheon and rest at ease on the sandy bank. Together with the woodland, the waters of the Naeseongcheon flowing from Yecheon towards Andong and a broad sandbank said to stretch some four kilometres combine with Seonmongdae to create an outstanding scene, and the site is valued as a scenic spot of great landscape and historical worth.

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Where it is

Region

Yecheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Scenic Site · 명승