#yesan

The village of Daeheung is also famous for the story of "The Good Brothers", the brothers Yi Seong-Man and Yi Hyung-Soon, who lived there during the Joseon Dynasty.

Legend has it that they each carried grains to the other's all night long only to learn they both cherished the idea of giving to each other. This story is even featured in elementary school textbooks. The pair were recognized by the king for their kindness and filial piety and a statue was erected to commemorate their good deeds.

Standing next to the statue, we can find Daeheung Dongheon. It is the building of the local government office of the Joseon Dynasty. The word dongheon is the name given to the building where the town head administered his duties. Only the dongheon office and gate remain today.

There’s a small pond at the backyard and this is a filming spot of ‘Hometown over the Hill’ drama, which was first broadcasted in October 2007.

The House of Chusa Kim Jeong-Hui (추사고택)

We continue our tour to Chusa Gotaek, which is the traditional Korean house of the renowned scholar and calligrapher, Chusa (also known as Kim Jeong-Hui). This old house is known to have been constructed by the great-grandfather of Chusa, Kim Han-Sin.

As a famous literati painter himself, Kim Jeong-Hui created his own style calligraphy called chusache. His representative artwork is a picture named Sehando (Winter Scene). 

The two ever-green trees in the picture symbolize the strong tie between him and his follower Yi Sang-Jeok, as a teacher and a student. This picture depicts one snow-covered cottage with the pine tree on the left and the cone pine tree on the right. The remaining space is left empty with the intention of emphasizing the virtue of living simple and temperately.

There’s a memorial museum built not far from the house, where we can find some of Chusa Kim Jeong-Hui’s artworks.

Yesan Apple Wine

We moved on to the next destination, which was the place for the workshop. Yesan Apple Wine, is a company operating a large apple farm in Yesan which produce good and delicious apples.

It was designated as the only Yesan Red Clay Apple Special Zone in Yesan. It became the leader of the Korean apple industry by introducing new varieties and cultivation techniques drastically.

It has operated the experience program which can directly harvest apples from October 1st to the middle of November and the program which can buy an apple tree and harvest apples in autumn.

It also has built a winery and were equipped with a restaurant, a seminar room, and pension-style accommodations. The products was named Chusa (秋史) which means apples produced in autumn.

Oh, the owner is also very nice and kind~ ^^

Another popular experience programs offered here are apple pie making and winery tour. We can make our own apple pie and take a look inside the winery and see how they make the apple wines. Who can refuse the sweet and freshly baked from the oven apple pie? ^^

Besides apple wine, they also produce apple jam and apple chips. Anyone?

After pie making and winery tour, our next activity was workshop. We were divided into several groups and got a task to make a K-Farm Medical Tourism promotion poster. All groups showed their best effort and creativity to make the poster. Unfortunately my group did not win the competition ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. But surprisingly I got a prize for my post in SNS about K-Farm supporters first trip to Yeongdong.

We stayed in a pension near the apple farm for one night. The pension was really nice and in the morning we felt so refreshed because of the bright sunshine, clean air, and beautiful scenery, and we were all ready to continue our tour in Yesan.

Sudeoksa Temple

We continued our tour to Sudeoksa Temple. The Sudeoksa Temple, which has played an important role in the history of Korea’s Buddhism, is located in the Deoksungsan Mountains. The main building of the Sudeoksa Temple, the Daeungjeon, has been preserved in its original condition. This was first constructed in 1308 and has been designated a national treasure. Between 1528 and 1803 it was repaired four times, but fortunately kept its original beauty. As well as the Daeungjeon, the Sudeoksa Temple houses many cultural treasures, such as the Sudeoksa 3-storey stone pagoda.

The main building, Daeungjeon, is the oldest wooden building in Korea.

Sudeoksa Temple is one of the most popular Temple Stay programs. The program is highlighted by monastic meals, a tea ceremony, and a conversation with monks from Sudeoksa Temple. A visitor can also enjoy the scenic beauty that surrounds Sudeoksa Temple by taking a beautiful hike to the top of Deoksungsan Mountain. You can also enjoy the neighbouring Jeonghyesa Temple and the amazing views from the peak.

Resom Spa Castle

The last destination in this tour was Resom Spa Castle. The spa uses waters from the Deoksan Hot Springs, whose waters have been enjoyed by Koreans for six hundred years. There are over 400 guestrooms, a large banquet hall, seminar room, and a relaxation complex that includes everything from a cultural arts plaza, to a garden, and walking trails.

Spa Castle’s hot spring waters are known to be effective against skin troubles, gastroenteric disorders, neuralgia, and muscular pains, and are also great for skin rejuvenation.

Finally it was time for us to leave Yesan. We had a lot of fun and experiences from K-Farm tour this time. We really enjoyed the city of Yesan which has beautiful nature and rich with cultural history; makes it a perfect healing place to refresh your mind and body.