Bangjeong, Cheongju

This is a well that stood in the village where Han Ran, founding ancestor of the Cheongju Han clan, once lived. It lies in an alley behind the Cheongju Han clan hall, about 200 m from Munongjeong Pavilion. It is said that Han Ran used its water for drinking and for everyday needs while he lived here. According to legend, a severe drought struck one year and farming became impossible. Han Ran prepared ritual offerings and prayed for three days, until he collapsed and lost consciousness. At that moment a general appeared from the north and thrust the tip of his spear into the ground, and clear water gushed forth. Startled with joy, Han Ran cried out and woke from the dream; when he dug at the spot he had seen in it, a great volume of water poured from the earth. Han Ran and the members of his clan joined together to dig a large square pit here to hold the water, and from then on it never dried up or diminished even in severe drought. From this the place came to be known as "Bangjeong Village," meaning the village of the square well. It is said that when King Taejo of Goryeo (Wang Geon), passing through this area after subjugating Gyeonhwon, gave the well's water to his army of 100,000 soldiers, it never ran short. Bangjeong is built of dressed granite: the well-head (jeongdu) is worked in stone, with the characters "Bangjeong" carved into its capstone, while the rear wall is a curved retaining wall of roughly piled stones. Although it survives only as legend, it is a historic well that preserves the origin story of the Han clan, one of the leading lineages whose ancestral seat is Cheongju.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물