getting out of town and into nature

Took a hike up Mt. Apsan 앞산 last Sunday. It has been really a long time since hiked last time because almost every weekend had been spent just cycling.  Daegu has Mt. Apsan located just south of the city, meaning front mountain. 

It was a chilly and windy yet slightly warm day! The fresh air made it feel better without sweating. During the pandemic, the hikers need other gears like face masks. Seems the sunny weather made people rush out and hit the trail.

Apsan Jarak-gil trail 앞산 자락길 in Daegu was opened to the public in 2009. It consists of 6 sections whose names have their own hidden meanings. They are linked at the southern foot of the mountain. The ridge trail to the summit is easily accessible from trailheads spotted along Jarak-gil trail. The hike began at Youth training center and ascends some 660 meters up a rugged ridge.

Hikers are rewarded with sweeping views of the Daegu Valley at several points along the trail ridge to the summit with multiple viewpoints of Mt. Apsan. With the telecommunication facilities installed, the summit had been closed for ages. Recently the facility was moved aside and the viewing platform was placed instead. 

            

A HOT guy could be seen in short shirts on the top of the mountain, while all the others in thick warm, or goose jackets. It was a funny contrast between them in the cold season.

a Glimpse into an old house 운림 고택

Joseon 조선 dynasty(1392–1910) had the institution of Naesi 내시 who was a eunuch official, having served at the palace as a court attendant. Kim Byeongik 김병익(1842∼1925) was a Naesi at the royal court in the late Joseon dynasty. 

He came from the Kim family having resided in Imdang-ri village 임당리 in Geumcheon township 금천면, Cheongdo county 청도군 in Gyeongbuk 경북 province which had continued over 400 years, sixteen generations. His family line started a few years back before the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592. 

Kim Byeongik, whose pen name was Ullim, was the 15th descendent of the Kim family. He held high office in the palace, in the later year, he retired to his home in Imdang-ri and built his own house, which has been well conserved until now. The house is called Ullim old house 운림고택. 

Ullim house has a building structure that had been popular in the 19th century. Similarly, the house style of the wealthier Yangban 양반 family, the highest social class in the Joseon period, has separate quarters as influenced by the Confucian culture: male quarters, secondary male quarters, and female quarters. However,  this house has extra gates to shut off access to the outside world for the women residing in the house.

Besides, gate quarters, servants' quarters, a main storehouse, a secondary storehouse, and a shrine are also located inside. The retired Naesi set his house facing towards north-west in the direction of the palace, not south, expressing his undying loyalty to the king in the palace. A south-facing home has been the most preferable in Korea.

This house has also unique and distinct features from other houses; the male quarters are unusually located to make it easier to see people passing through the gate at the entrance of the female quarters. The inner gate attached to the secondary male quarters is the only entrance to the female quarters. From the male quarters, all those who enter through the gate are easily visible, intending to minimize the likelihood of contact between the women living in the quarters and others, particularly men. With the only exception of parental death, the wives were not allowed to leave the house for their life.

                                         

The secondary male quarters, female quarters, and two storehouses, which are joined together by both of their sidewalls, form a square courtyard in the middle. The shrine and garden pond are located right in front of the main gate.

Naesi could not be a father, he was still allowed to marry a woman to form a family as the basic unit of Confucian traditional society and adopt a child from another family or an orphan or castrated boy to carry on the family line even though not sharing the same bloodline. 

It was inevitable that their stepsons came from diverse families. The Kim family's genealogical record found recently at the shrine includes the names of the male line of descent from the 2nd to the 16th generation, and shows us its descendants had almost different surnames, appearing to be almost unprecedented in Korea.

The institution of Naesi was formally abolished in 1908. The 17th generation descendent was also castrated but didn't work in the palace as a court attendant. Since the 18th generation descendent, they have maintained a normal father-son relationship.

*내시(內侍, Naesi), a Korean movie filmed in 1968

cycling through the sky village

In the mountain range in the far eastern region of Daegu lies Mt. Guryongsan 구룡산. Legend has it that a daughter of the dragon king of the sea lived here with 9 children. Guryong 구룡 means 9 dragons, san a mountain. A few scattered villages including Guryong-ri 구룡리 are spotted along the road at the foot of the mountain. The top floor not that far from the villages affords a panoramic view surrounding the mountain. 

About 200 years ago, anti-Catholic persecutions began to prevail across the nation. Some Catholics had to leave their home to escape religious persecution; this place became one of the best shelters for them moving across the country and then a religious community during the period of persecution was established here like other shelters. Around 100 years ago, a catholic church station was built here after the persecution had ended. The station is designed to embrace the traditional Korean style.

The hiking trail runs through the summit of Mt. Guryongsan to Geoncheon 건천. Have ever hiked along the trail from Yongseong to Geoncheon a couple of times during the autumn. 

The paved roads lead to the bottom of the mountain from Yongseoung on the eastern side and Unmun Dam 운문댐 on the southern one. The road condition of the upper side of the routes is not that good. This winter, a cyclist was attracted to this route which is exposed to steep uphill and downhill and typical winter landscape. It was a chilly and windy day.

The start and endpoints of the route were the parking lot of the Yongseong myeon(township) office 용성면사무소. Guryong-ri, the sky village, and the lakeside of Unmun Dam were included in the route. The path gets steeper with a maximum gradient of 28% as you cycle further until you reach the upper. Didn't encounter any other riders along the upper path. Cycling is much safer and more pleasant on quiet routes. That was a considerably calmer and more exciting route through the mountains, fields, and villages, while the traffic around the lakeside of Unmun Dam was a little busy.

It would be interesting for a cyclist to visit some places on the route for the first time in his life.