Gimcheon Gwahacheon Stream

Gwahacheon, in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, takes its name from a spring that, according to the Geumneungji, a gazetteer published in the 44th year of King Sukjong's reign (1718), had long produced gold-bearing water; the spring was called Geumjicheon, or "gold-earth stream", from which the name Gimcheon itself is said to derive. Because liquor brewed with this spring water had an excellent taste and aroma, the spring was also called Jucheon, or "wine spring". During the Japanese invasions of 1592 (the Imjin War), the Ming general Yi Yeo-song praised the spring for tasting just like the Gwahacheon spring in China, and from then on it was called Gwahacheon; liquor brewed with this water came to be known as Gimcheon gwahaju. Gimcheon gwahaju is renowned nationwide alongside the liquors of Yeosan, Iksan, Hosan, Mungyeong and Chuncheon. It is said that even when people from other regions learn the brewing method and make the liquor themselves, it never tastes quite like the Gimcheon original, because the spring water itself is different. Although Geumjicheon itself is now buried underground, the present-day Gwahacheon spring has long been known as the "Gwahaju Spring", and behind it stands a stone inscribed with the words "Geumneung Jucheon", erected in the 19th year of Emperor Gojong's reign (1882).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료