Tour Through Time: Stop 22: Dosan Seowon

94 miles later and we arrive at the Confucian Academy of Dosan Seowon, Andong. Yi Hwang was born near here in On’gye-ri on 25th November 1501, the youngest of 8 children. His Uncle taught him the Analects of Confucius at just 12 years old. He then moved onto writing poetry after admiring the work of Chinese poet Tao Qian; writing “Yadang” (Pond in the Wind) at 18 using the penname “Toi Gye” meaning “returning stream”.

At the age of 20 he then studied the ancient Chinese text I Ching and at the same time Neo-Confucianism, travelling to Seoul at 23 to enter the National Academy. He passed all the preliminary exams to become a government official and later also the Civil Service exams (usually only passed by those much older than Yi Hwang), with the highest of honours.

Yi Hwang held several positions in government, including Secret Royal Inspector, a role appointed directly by the King to travel to local provinces and secretly monitor officials to root out corruption, whilst still continuing to write poetry. He also enjoyed a game of “tuhu” (arrow throwing) which involved throwing arrows by hand into a jar 2 meters away.

Disillusioned, as many were, with the constant power struggles within the government, Yi Hwang decided to retire, but stepped out of retirement at 48, albeit away from the Royal Court, to become Governor of Danyang and later Punji, where he redeveloped the Baekundong Seowon (a private Neo-Confucius Academy).

Yi Hwang’s Neo-Confucianism grew in popularity amongst scholars and government officials, who supported the building of schools devoted to its teachings. Yi Hwang then founded the building we have travelled to, the Dosan Seodang, a private school, which prospered no end from his royal connections, allowing it to run for free with numerous generous donations of books and land etc. from the King.

As Neo-Confucianism increased in popularity with Yi Hwang and his younger contemporary Yi I, Buddhism went into decline. Because of the differing philosophies, government officials started arguing and fighting, which contributed to the later Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea by Hideyoshi Toyotomi in 1583.

Yi Hwang turned down many positions in government to focus on his private studies. However, King Myeong-Jong’s successor King Seonjo did eventually manage to convince him to come back at the age of 68 to write advisory documents and give lectures on Neo-Confucianism and the Confucian scripts he had studied.

Yi Hwang died in 1570, aged 70. In his lifetime he had held 29 different positions within government and served 4 different kings, as well as developing Neo-Confucianism. King Seonjo posthumously awarded Yi Hwang the highest ministerial rank and reformed the Dosan Seodang into what is now known as the Dosan Seowon, creating a shrine for Toi Gye as well as retaining its areas for study. Still preserved at his shrine today are four wooden blocks recording the “Twelve Songs of Tosan”, carved from Yi Hwang’s own handwriting in 1565 and celebrated as the oldest existing written version of any traditional Korean poetry.

Yi Hwang is considered one of the two great Confucian Scholars of Korea and because of this his image features on the 1,000 won note, with the Dosan Seowon on the reverse.

We will be celebrating our arrival here with 94 narrow squats before continuing 37 miles south to a famous birthplace.

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Tour Through Time: Stop 21: Nonsan Si

11 short miles later and we arrive at the battle site of Hwangsanbeol where Ge Baek fought Kim Yoo Sin.

We discussed at our last stop how horrendously outnumbered the Baekje army were, and how Ge Baek knew it was a suicide battle. It is said that as their 5,000 troops assembled before the 50,000 strong Silla army and 130,000 Tang troops, that he made the most heroic speech to his people, reminding them of an old tale of Chinese King Goujian of Yue who defeated an army of 700,000 with just 5,000 men. Ge Baek announced that he would rather die than be a slave to the enemy, encouraging his men to fight to the bitter end.

Despite the overwhelming odds, the Baekje army won the first four clashes, causing many casualties and demoralising the Silla troops. General Kim Pum Il then sent his 16-year-old son, and Hwa Rang warrior, Kwan Chan, alone into the Baekje camp to kill Ge Baek. The boy failed and was captured, but Ge Baek was so impressed by his fearlessness that he released him back unharmed. The next day Kwan Chan tried again, and after being captured a second time managed to kill the guards and even Ge Baek’s 2nd in command, reportedly with a flying kick to the head, knocking him off his horse and breaking his neck. This time when he was recaptured Ge Baek executed Kwan Chan, sending his body back to his father as a sign of respect for the boy’s bravery.

Spurred on by Kwan Chan’s death, the Silla soldiers surrounded the thinning Baekje army. Ge Baek gave his final command to “Hold or Die” and the entire Baekje army were killed.

Ge Baek and Yoo Sin were both famous Generals of their time, albeit on opposing sides. Kim Yoo Sin himself was an accomplished swordsman and Hwa Rang warrior, who rose quickly through the ranks because of his royal bloodlines. He became unit commander of the Yonghwa-Hyangdo (Band of the Dragon Flower Tree) in just 3 years, rising to Commander in Chief of Silla’s entire army by the age of 34. Legends of Yoo Sin’s victories are plentiful, in 645 AD it is said that he led his armies into battle with Baekje 3x without even visiting his family, to which his tired and hungry soldiers had said “When our leader is like this, how can we be sad to be parted from our meat and bread”.

Yoo Sin was a courageous man, and even promised his childhood friend and high minister Kim Chun-Chu that if anything were to happen to him on his journey to Goguryo that he was personally mount his horse and come rescue him. As it happened, Chun-Chu did need his assistance; upon his arrival the Goguryo King had him imprisoned and sentenced him to death. But Yoo Sin chose 3,000 of his bravest Hwa Rang soldiers and said “If a man is ready to give himself up to death, then he is worth one hundred men; if one hundred men are ready to give themselves up to death, then they are worth one thousand men; if one thousand men are ready to give themselves up to death, then they are worth ten thousand men. In this case, it is possible, through faith, to march straight through the world”. A spy informed the Goguryo King of Yoo Sin’s mission and before the troops had even left, Kim Chun-Chu had been released!

Chun-Chu later became the King, King Muyeol, in 654 AD. He was now also Yoo Sin’s blood brother as he had married Yoo Sin’s sister. It was King Muyeol’s longstanding friendship with the Tang Emperor that brought the Chinese to their aid in the Battle of Hwangsanbul. Here it is said that the Tang General saw a buzzard circling above their camp and saw it has an omen that he would die in battle, but seeing the General trembling in fear Kim Yoo Sin struck the bird down and led it at his feet saying “A small grotesque bird cannot interfere with our great expedition against a bad king”.

After the Battle of Hwangsanbul, in 661 AD, King Muyeol sadly passed away and his son, Yoo Sin’s nephew, Moon Moo, ascended the throne. After the annexation of Baekje, and many years of battles, the combined Silla and Tang forces finally defeated Goguryo in 668 AD, and a unified Silla was formed. King Moon Moo bestowed upon Yoo Sin the title of Taedaegakgan (similar to Grand Sub-Chief) and gifted him a village of 500 households and later 142 horse farms spread throughout the kingdom.

In 673 AD it is said that people saw visions of warriors with shields and weapons walking out of Yoo Sin’s house crying, then disappearing into the air. 10 days later Yoo Sin was struck down with sickness. King Moon Moo is said to have wept at his bedside at the thought of losing him. On 1st July 673 AD he passed away, aged 79. He is remembered to this day as being the driving force for the unification of Korea and was posthumously awarded the honorary title of King Heung-Mu (Great King of War) by King Heung-Deok.

We will be marking our arrival here with 11 Skater Lunges before continuing a lengthy 94 miles east to a Confucian Academy.

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Tour Through Time: Stop 20: Buyeo Gun

40 miles later and we arrive in Buyeo County in South Chungcheong Province. Here we visit the statue of Ge Baek, a famous General from the 7th Century Baekje Dynasty, which stands on display in the county he was born in. Not a lot is known about Ge Baek’s early life, but plenty of stories have been passed down the generations, including one which tells of a tiger who suckled him when he was born after his mother fainted.

The Baekje Dynasty had flourished for many years but fell into disarray as King Uija neglected its running. In 660AD Baekje was invaded by 50,000 Silla troops led by General Kim Yoo Sin and 130,000 Tang troops led by General Su Ding Fang. King Uija promoted Ge Baek to Commander of the Baekje Armed Forces, but with a force of only 5,000 troops they were horrendously outnumbered.

Before going in to battle, Ge Baek is said to have killed his wife and children to protect them from being captured and tortured by the enemy following his inevitable defeat. We will cover the details of this historic battle at our next stop when we travel a short 11 miles from the statute to the actual battlefield.

Following the battle, the Baekje Dynasty fell, and Ge Baek’s astounding bravery was nearly completely erased from history. With Neo-Confucianism growing in popularity years later, Ge Baek was finally recognised as the Korean hero he was, with historians and scholars acknowledging his exemplary display of Confucian patriotism and loyalty. There was even a Korean drama series released in 2011 entitled “Gye-Baek” which depicts Ge Baek’s life.

We will be marking our arrival with 40 star jumps before continuing 11 miles south east to the battlefield where Ge Baek lost his life.

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