Yun Seondo Garden on Bogildo

On Bogildo, an island in the sea south of Wando, survives the garden that the Joseon poet Yun Seondo (pen name Gosan) shaped with his own hands over more than a decade. He dammed a stream to make ponds and set pavilions on the natural rocks, and the Yun Seondo Garden is regarded as the finest example of a Joseon-era retreat garden; it is protected as a national Scenic Site. You can walk through the very landscape in which he wrote his famous cycle of poems, "The Fisherman's Calendar".

History: a poet who stopped on the way to Jeju

Yun Seondo (1587–1671) was in Haenam when news of the Qing invasion of 1636 reached him. He sailed north to Ganghwa Island, only to find that King Injo had already surrendered at Namhansanseong. Disillusioned, he set off for Jeju Island but, so the story goes, was so taken with Bogildo's scenery on the way that he stayed.

From 1637 he came and went many times, spending nearly 13 years here in all, and used the shape of the valley to create spaces for living, leisure and contemplation. He named the valley Buyongdong, "Lotus Valley", because its shape reminded him of a lotus bud bursting into bloom. The garden was designated a Historic Site in 1992 and reclassified as a Scenic Site in 2008.

What to see

The garden falls into three areas.

• Seyeonjeong: the most elaborately designed part, a place for leisure. A stone weir dams the stream to form the Seyeonji pond, with large boulders left scattered through the water, and a square pond has a small island planted with a single pine. The Seyeonjeong pavilion, open on all sides, reportedly even had underfloor ondol heating so it could be used in winter.
• Panseokbo weir: a hollow weir built of upright flat stones that held water back and released it, a rare feature in Korean garden design.
• East and West platforms: two square stone platforms on the pond's eastern shore, where dancers are said to have performed and musicians played.
• Nakseojae: the site of Yun's house, his space for reading and study, beside a small stream where buildings such as Goksudang and Mumindang once stood.
• Dongcheonseoksil: a one-room pavilion perched on a cliff halfway up the slope opposite Nakseojae. Its name refers to the dwelling place of Taoist immortals; around it, in an area of about 3,306 m², Yun arranged a stone gate, pond, spring and waterfall. The Yongduam rock where a pulley was hung and a "tea rock" where he brewed tea are still there.

Good to know

• Yun is said to have risen at cockcrow, read and taught his students, and spent the afternoons at Seyeonjeong enjoying dance and music.
• The garden is counted among the three great traditional gardens of Korea.

Nearby

• Gosan Yun Seondo Literature Park: about 500 m from the garden ticket office, introducing his poetry.
• Tongni and Yesong beaches: Bogildo beaches a little over 2 km from the garden, good for a rest afterwards.
• Mihwangsa Temple, Haenam: in the same county as Ttangkkeut, where the ferry leaves, an easy stop before or after the island.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30). Closed Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday), 1 January and on Lunar New Year's Day and Chuseok.
• Admission (individual): adults KRW 3,000, teenagers and soldiers KRW 2,500, children KRW 2,000; free for visitors 65 and over and children 6 and under with a guardian.
• Getting there: ferries run many times a day from Ttangkkeut Port in Haenam to Sanyangjin Port on Nohwado. Nohwado and Bogildo are joined by the Bogil Bridge, opened in 2008, so you can drive straight across. Ferries also leave from Hwaheungpo Port in Wando.
• Dongcheonseoksil: from the Seyeonjeong ticket office it is about 5 minutes by car, then roughly 20 minutes on foot uphill. From Friday to Sunday a heritage guide is stationed at Seyeonjeong; hearing the explanation first makes Nakseojae and Dongcheonseoksil far more rewarding.
• Time needed: 2 to 3 hours for all three areas. With ferry times, plan it as a full day.