Following Loyalty: From Um Heung-do’s Grave to Reflective Gardens
Creatrip Team
22 days ago
A surge of interest around the film ‘The Man Who Lives with the King’ has renewed attention on Um Heung-do, a loyal retainer who secretly retrieved King Danjong’s body. In Gunwi, visitors can walk the “Chunguigong Um Heung-do burial site” and a nearby history trail; the modest Hwabong Station (an old simple train station) adds nostalgic charm. In Dalseong’s Myogol village, the Yuksin-sa shrine honors the Six Martyred Ministers (사육신) including Park Paeng-nyeon, and a Hanok café called Myoun, run by Park’s descendant, offers a relaxed stop after historical exploration. Art and preservation continue the theme: the Daegu Kansong Museum, a regional branch of collector Kansong Jeon Hyeong-pil’s legacy, showcases efforts to save Korean cultural heritage and features conservation labs. Finally, Sayuwon, a vast themed cultural garden on Palgong Mountain, blends mature trees, landscape, and architecture—including works by Álvaro Siza and Seung Hyo-sang—inviting slow, contemplative walks (reservation recommended). Together these sites connect stories of loyalty (충절), history, art, and reflection for a deeper Daegu–Gunwi travel experience.
