“Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Park” was established to pay tribute to Gyosan Heo Gyun, the author of the first novel to be written in Hangeul (the phonetic alphabet used to write the Korean language), “Hong Gildong-jeon (The Story of Hong Gil-dong),” which presents a revolutionary idea of eradicating the class system and achieving equality in the Joseon Dynasty, and Naseolheon Heo Cho-hui, whose poetry and paintings became widely famous in China and Japan despite the constraints she experienced as a woman.
Heo Cho-hui was a prominent writer in the mid-Joseon Dynasty who left behind over 300 poems as well as proses and essays. She also excelled at calligraphy and painting. In the Joseon Dynasty, it was customary not to call women by their names, but her younger brother, Heo Gyun, who did not want her talent to remain obscure, had her works published under her own name in the Ming Dynasty.
Heo Gyun was as talented as his older sister. As he studied various academic disciplines as well as poetry, he began to recognize the irrational systems and inequality that exist in society, and he dreamed of a world where people interacted and communicated with one another, regardless of their social status. The book that resulted from this vision was “The Story of Hong Gil-dong.”
In the pine forest in Chodang-dong, where Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon spent their childhood, there is a memorial park that was established to celebrate their literary works.
Past the entrance, there is a memorial hall providing a glimpse into the lives of the two siblings, and there is a trail beyond it that leads to a monument left by the five writers of the Heo family.
Continue following the trail to arrive at the birthplace of Heo Nanseolheon, where she was born and raised. The tile-roofed house built in the typical architectural style of hanok (A type of traditional Korean house first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty) built for the gentry is surrounded by a pine forest in peaceful tranquility.
The old house appears even more stunning with enchanting cherry blossoms in spring and colorful leaves in autumn. This impressive scenery, which Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon must have enjoyed while grown up, blurs the boundary between the past and the present, making the onlookers feel as though the siblings are taking in the awe-inspiring sight next to them.
공공저작물 자유이용 허락 표시