Beolgyo Walking Tour.

Although I already wrote a blog entry about Beolgyo, I've decided to copy-and-paste the article I wrote for the Gwangju News' October issue that contains the little walking tour I typed up, since somebody asked about it. I uploaded the information to Galbijim in October, but all those pages are gone and it's too much effort to try to redo them right now. There are several other, better sources for Beolgyo out there, and I recommend visiting the profiles done by Robert Koehler and Antti Leppanen if you're interested in actually learning something. Anyway, here's the article and the pictures that ran with it. My flickr page has more, and it also has a photograph of a large tourist map that was hanging outside a restaurant. I was only able to find 7 of the 16 mentioned sites, however.




Walking through historic Beolgyo

Beolgyo is a place that doesn’t get much attention these days. The town of 19,000 in Boseong county is east of the famed green tea fields, south of Suncheon, and just next door to the Naganeupseong Folk Village. There’s a good chance most readers have passed through without taking notice, as Beolgyo is one of many bus stops between Mokpo and Yeosu.

Beolgyo’s fame has waned, perhaps intentionally. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the town became an important link between Yeosu and the rest of Jeolla. The remaining colonial-era buildings represent for some the oppressive economic and political circumstances of the last century. Beolgyo was also the site of violent anti-communist turmoil in the late-1940s, and many were executed here as part of the crackdown against the Yeosu–Suncheon Rebellion of 1948.

Yet the town still does attract visitors interested in Japanese-style architecture and those eager to retrace the footsteps of the famed, controversial, 10-volume novel Taebaek Sanmaek (태백산맥, The Taebaek Mountains), written in the 1980s by Jo Jeong-rae. It, and the 1994 Im Kwon-taek film of the same name, traces the ideological conflicts that plagued the newly-formed Republic of Korea. Many of the town’s colonial-era sites bear placards explaining their historical significance and relationship to the novel.

Those interested in wandering through Beolgyo’s history will likely start at Beolgyo’s bus terminal. After exiting, walk down the station’s driveway and turn right. After a minute or two a sign for Daegwang Preschool (대광어린이집) will appear on the right. The preschool is set on a hill in what was once Hoejeongni Church (회정리교회), built in 1935. Continuing along the road, turn right at the main thoroughfare that runs parallel to the stream. After a few minutes the Rainbow Bridge (홍교) will appear on the left. Originally constructed in 1729, the crescent-shaped stone bridge has been rebuilt several times, most recently in 1984. Across the bridge is a cluster of maroon-colored buildings belonging to Pogyodang Temple. Four small buildings on the site surround a small garden. All four feature vivid paintings that incorporate, besides the five traditional colors, silver and gold. Chinese-style depictions of flowers and birds adorn the fronts, while intricate images of dragons, deities, and lotus flowers decorate the awnings.


Hoejeongni Church, now Daegwang Preschool; Rainbow Bridge; Main Hall of Pogyodang and its awnings.

After leaving the temple, turn right and continue past a small clock tower. After a few minutes the large, gray Beolgyo-eup Office will come into view. Behind the office is a large staircase that leads up the hill to Buyongsan Park. Walking through the grassy expanse and up a small hill will lead to Palgakjeong (팔각정), a two-story, octagonal pavilion that affords views of downtown Beolgyo and the outlying lake. It takes about ten minutes to reach the pavilion, though the hike may be extended if visitors wish to see Yeonyongsa (연용사) temple or the remains of a mountain fortress some 3 kilometers away. [Note: The 등산안내 maps make no pretention to accuracy, so I couldn't find Yeonyongsa after about 45-minutes of looking.]


Downtown Beolgyo from Buyongsan.


Catacorner to the Beolgyo-eup Office is a grocery store, and across from that is another example of Japanese architecture that has survived these decades. Continuing past the market will lead to a senior-citizen’s community center. With a white façade and a sloping red roof, this building was formerly known as the Financial Collective building (금융조합), and is a typical example of architecture of the day. The next example of Japanese architecture is a few blocks away, in front of Beolgyo South Elementary School (벌교남초교). It is the former Namdo Inn (남도여관), a two-story building which looks inconspicuous today with a clothier in the ground floor, but which figured into Taebaek Sanmaek as the lodgings of the police counterinsurgency forces.


Financial Collective Building; Namdo Inn

Down the street is Beolgyo Station, partially obscured by taxi stands and trees, but still prominent and striking because of its sloping, tiled roof. The station was built in 1930 and is one of a few colonial-era train stations still in operation in Jeollanam-do. If facing the station, turn left and make your way back toward the stream. Cross the river via Buyong Bridge (부용교), also known as Sohwa Dari (소화다리). Built in 1931, in the 6th year of the Japanese Sohwa era, the simple, unassuming concrete bridge was the site of executions of communists and their sympathizers by the Korean military in the late-1940s. It is one of many symbols of tragedy and suffering that remain in Beolgyo after 60-odd years. Crossing the bridge will put you near a cluster of apartments that you passed after leaving Hoejeongni Church. Continue up the street again to return to the bus terminal.

Buses from practically all towns in Jeollanam-do will reach Beolgyo. From Suncheon, take bus 88, or visit the Suncheon Intercity Bus Terminal and buy a ticket for 2,100 won there. From Gwangju, buses bound for Nokdong (녹동) leave twice an hour, and stop in Beolgyo along the way.