Taejongdae, Hoengseong

On the eastern side of Chiaksan, a small painted shrine stands on a cliff above the bend of the Gangnimcheon stream. Taejongdae in Hoengseong is where King Taejong (Yi Bang-won), the third ruler of Joseon, is said to have waited in vain for his old teacher, the scholar Won Cheon-seok. There is not much to see, but the story of a scholar whom even a king could not win over makes it a worthwhile stop on the way to Chiaksan.

The story: a teacher who hid from the king

Won Cheon-seok was a late-Goryeo scholar who had taught the young Yi Bang-won. When Goryeo fell and the Joseon dynasty took its place, he refused every official post, left Gaeseong and withdrew to Gangnim-ri. Tradition says he lived there on roots and bark.

After Taejong became king, he travelled to Gangnim in person to bring his teacher back into service. Won avoided the meeting by slipping into the mountains, and asked an old woman washing clothes by the stream to point the king the wrong way. Taejong waited on the rock she showed him until he understood that his teacher had no wish to see him, then turned back. The spot where the king stopped was first called Jupildae, "the place where the royal procession halted", and was later renamed Taejongdae.

Won is counted among the scholars who refused to serve the new dynasty after Goryeo fell. Tradition says he built an altar near the summit of Chiaksan and gathered the scattered loyalists known as the "72 of Dumundong" to hold rites for the fallen dynasty. Another story has it that when Taejong later summoned him to the palace, he appeared in white mourning clothes, a silent rebuke to a king who had killed his own brothers on the way to the throne. That tension between king and teacher lives on in the place names around Gangnim.

What to see

• Shrine and stele: inside the shrine on the cliff stands a stone inscribed "Jupildae". It is fenced, so you view it from outside. From the cliff top you look down on the Gangnimcheon winding between the rocks.
• Rock inscription: on the rock face below the cliff, characters including "Taejongdae" were carved in 1723.
• Places from the story: nearby are Noguso, the pool linked to the old woman, and Hoengjiam rock, while Chiaksan has the traditional sites of Won's hermitage.

Taejongdae was listed as a Gangwon provincial heritage site in 1984.

Tripto tips

• Access: open at all times, with parking. Enquiries: Hoengseong County Culture and Arts Team, +82 33-340-5956.
• Location: 287 Taejong-ro, Gangnim-myeon, Hoengseong, directly above the Gangnim entrance to Chiaksan National Park, about 20 km in a straight line from Hoengseong town. Public transport is sparse, so a car is easiest.
• Time needed: 15–30 minutes for the shrine and inscription; combine it with a hike on Chiaksan or a walk along the valley.
• Best time: May–June, when the valley is green, and October for autumn colour.