Midang Seo Jeong-ju Poetry Museum

In Seonun-ri, a small village below Soyosan in Buan-myeon, Gochang, the Midang Seo Jeong-ju Poetry Museum honours the poet Seo Jeong-ju (pen name Midang, 1915–2000). Housed in a former village school, it displays the poet's manuscripts, first editions and personal belongings, and his restored birthplace and his grave are a short walk away. Here, in the landscape where the author of "Beside a Chrysanthemum" grew up, you can trace his poetry, his life and also its darker side.

From village school to museum

The museum occupies the closed Seonun branch of Bongam Elementary School, remodelled to a design by architect Kim Won, and opened on 3 November 2001, the year after the poet's death. The date was chosen to mark his part in the Gwangju Student Independence Movement as a pupil of Jungang High School. It has exhibition rooms, a reconstruction of his study, a video room and a lookout tower rising above the old school building. Since 2024 it has been run by Dongguk University's Midang Institute under an agreement with Gochang County. In 2023 a bookshop and book café, Jilmajae Poets' Village, with some 3,000 poetry books opened next door.

What to see

• Manuscripts and collections: handwritten manuscripts and first editions of 15 poetry collections, from his debut Hwasajip (Flower Snake, 1941) to Jilmajae Sinhwa (The Myths of Jilmajae, 1975), his book of stories from this village.
• Portraits and belongings: a portrait of Midang by the painter Unbo Kim Ki-chang, a painted version of "Beside a Chrysanthemum" by Park No-soo, and personal items such as his English Bible, glasses and pocket watch. The poet's own belongings number about 2,000 items, and with donations the collection reaches some 10,000.
• Family history: the ground-floor room shows photographs of his mother and his wife Bang Ok-suk, and documents such as the betrothal papers exchanged at their wedding.
• His pro-Japanese works: in the final years of Japanese rule, Seo wrote poems and essays glorifying the war and urging Koreans to enlist, and in the early 1980s he wrote verse supporting and praising Chun Doo-hwan, for which he is still criticised. The museum includes a space presenting the pro-Japanese works, so visitors can weigh his literary achievement against his record.

Birthplace, grave and the Jilmajae literary walk

Seo was born here in Seonun-ri in 1915. His birthplace, a two-room thatched house with mud walls, was restored with two buildings and a well when the museum was built, and a path of about 100 m connects the two. On the hill behind Anhyeon village, north-east of the museum, lies the grave of the poet and his wife. Around the village, 13 sculptures stand at the places where the stories of Jilmajae Sinhwa unfold, so you can join a guide for the Jilmajae literary walk, reading the poems where they are set.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: about 1 hour for the museum, around 2 hours with the birthplace, grave and sculptures.
• Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–18:00 from March to November and 09:00–17:00 from December to February. Closed on Mondays and 1 January. Check admission details with the museum before your visit (+82-63-564-8058).
• Literary walk: guided walks around the village run twice a day, at 11:00 and 15:00; ask at the guide desk in advance.
• Getting there: buses to Seonun-ri take about 30 minutes from Gochang Munhwa Terminal and about 20 minutes from Heungdeok Intercity Bus Terminal. By car, Seonunsa Temple is 4 km away, about 10 minutes, so it is easy to combine the two.
• Best time: September, when red spider lilies flower around Seonunsa, or the autumn foliage season, for a full day with the temple.