Nakseongdae

On the way to Seoul National University, at the foot of Gwanaksan, there is a park with a red-pillared shrine. Nakseongdae means "the place where a star fell": legend says a great star dropped here when Gang Gam-chan (948–1031), the celebrated Goryeo general, was born. Most people know the name from the subway station, but if you walk in you find a quiet shrine to the general and a Goryeo-era stone pagoda.

History: a general born of a star

Gang Gam-chan topped the state civil service examination as a scholar-official and went on to repel the Khitan invasions as a commander. That rare combination gave rise to many stories casting him as a star reborn as a man. In a collection of anecdotes by the early Joseon writer Seong Hyeon, an envoy from Song China picks out the shabbily dressed Gang at a glance, bows and declares that the star Mungok, the fourth star of the Big Dipper, which had long vanished from the sky, was now in the East. Such tales are best read as legend.

The city of Seoul began landscaping the site in November 1973 and completed the park in June 1974. It covers 31,350 m² and is enclosed by a 409 m wall.

What to see

• Angukmun Gate and Anguksa Shrine: Climb the stone steps through the outer gate, Angukmun, to reach Anguksa, a shrine built in 1974 in the style of Goryeo timber architecture. It holds a portrait of General Gang.
• Three-storey stone pagoda: This Goryeo-period granite pagoda, thought to date from the 13th century, stands 4.48 m tall. It originally stood at the birthplace and was moved in front of Anguksa when the park was built in 1973–74. The village around its original spot was once called Tapgol, "pagoda village".
• Birthplace marker: At the pagoda's original location, a 2 m stone marker was set up in 1974 to mark the general's birthplace. It is outside the park, in the residential streets of Nakseongdae-dong.
• Statue of the general: The park also has a statue of Gang Gam-chan.

Good to know

• A story goes that during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, soldiers removed the pagoda's top storey and stole the treasures inside.
• Because the name sounds like a university and the park is next to Seoul National University, "Nakseongdae" is used as a modest nickname for the university.

Walking around the park

Broad stone steps lead from the park entrance up to Angukmun, and beyond it the shrine sits within an inner gate. The three-storey pagoda in front of Anguksa has neat proportions between its base and roof stones, giving you a close look at a Goryeo stone pagoda. The surroundings are a quiet mix of homes and student streets, so it is a calm place to linger. One old account says Gang Gam-chan was small, with small ears, yet had the face of a noble man, a picture quite different from the usual image of a dashing general.

Tripto tips

• Hours and fees: The park is open all year and admission is free. There is a car park.
• Getting there: Walkable from Nakseongdae Station on Seoul Subway Line 2. The address is 77 Nakseongdae-ro, Gwanak-gu.
• How long: 30 minutes to an hour for the shrine and pagoda. Trails into Gwanaksan start behind the park, so it pairs well with a short hike.
• When to go: In autumn the trees turn colour and set off the stone steps of the shrine nicely.