Tangeumdae, Chungju

On the western edge of Chungju, where the Namhangang River meets the Dalcheon stream, a low pine-covered hill ends in cliffs above the water. It was named Tangeumdae, "the terrace where the zither was played", because Ureuk, the great musician of the Silla era, is said to have played the gayageum here, and in 1592, during the Japanese invasions, it was where General Sin Rip's Joseon army was destroyed. Music and war are layered on the same hill, which is now a national Scenic Site.

The hill of the gayageum

Tangeumdae was originally a hill called Daemunsan. Tradition says that Ureuk, who had come to Silla from Gaya in the reign of King Jinheung, sat on the rocks by the river here to play the gayageum, which gave the hill its name. Ureuk is counted with Bak Yeon and Wang San-ak among Korea's three great masters of music. The combination of the winding Namhangang, rocky cliffs and dense pine forest led to its designation as a national Scenic Site on 9 July 2008, covering 289,492 m².

According to the Samguk Sagi, King Gasil of Gaya created the gayageum and asked Ureuk to compose music for it; when Gaya went into decline, Ureuk crossed over to Silla. King Jinheung settled him at Gugwon, today's Chungju, and sent three pupils, Gyego, Beopji and Mandeok, to learn song, dance and the gayageum from him. In other words, the music of Gaya passed into the court music of Silla from this riverbank. Chungju still holds the Ureuk Cultural Festival in his name.

Sin Rip and Yeoldudae

In 1592, after Busan and Dongnae had fallen and the Japanese army was marching north, King Seonjo sent Sin Rip, then regarded as the finest general of the day, to stop it. His aide Kim Yeo-mul urged him to hold the rugged Mungyeong Saejae pass, but Sin Rip reasoned that Joseon's strong cavalry would do better against the largely infantry Japanese army on open ground, and chose the Dalcheon plain at Chungju. Accounts of his numbers vary; the Jingbirok chronicle records 8,000 men. On the 28th day of the fourth lunar month (7 June in the Western calendar), Konishi Yukinaga's forces split up and closed in on the Joseon army from several sides, almost wiping it out, and Sin Rip is said to have thrown himself into the river from the cliffs. The defeat left the road to Hanyang, the capital, effectively open. The drop on the river side of Tangeumdae is called Yeoldudae, "the twelve terraces": the story goes that during the battle Sin Rip climbed up and down it twelve times to cool his overheated bowstrings in the river and to rally his men.

What to look for

• Tangeumjeong and Yeoldudae: the Yeoldudae cliffs fall away below the Tangeumjeong pavilion on top of the hill. From here you look out over the river, the island in the middle of it and the hills on the far bank.
• Pine wood trail: wooden boardwalks and earth paths follow the edge of the cliff, with views of the river between the pines.
• Potato Flower poem stone: a memorial to Kwon Tae-eung, a children's poet from the local Chilgeum-dong neighbourhood whose short poems captured life under Japanese rule.
• Tangeumho: a regulating dam downstream has widened the river into a broad lake, now crossed by several bridges.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: it is about 1.6 km as the crow flies from Chungju Station, a short taxi ride. The address is 105 Tangeumdaean-gil, Chungju.
• Hours and fees: open 24 hours and free. There is a car park.
• Time needed: 60–90 minutes for a loop taking in Yeoldudae and Tangeumjeong.
• When to go: summer mornings, when the pine wood is cool, and autumn, when the riverbanks change colour. Stand at Yeoldudae in the late afternoon, when the light glitters on the water.
• If you are cycling: the Tangeumdae certification centre of the national cross-country cycle route is nearby. The Namhangang cycle path from Paldang Dam ends here, and the Saejae path towards Mungyeong Saejae begins.
• Watch out: the Yeoldudae side is a sheer cliff, so stay inside the railings.