Ibike Korea People-to-People Program
Photo essay: Saejae
Trail -
Ihwalyeong Pass to
Mungyeong
Ihwalyeong Pass to Mungyeong (50mi, 80km) Beautiful valleys .
Points of Interest: Ceramic
museum, Yangdong River.
At
the base of the road from Ihwalyeong Pass there is a ceramic museum with elegant pieces and informative
explanation. If you are confused about the differences between celadon,
porcelain and Buncheong ware this will help clear them up.
Conveniently
located where it would be nice to have an afternoon snack was this apple stand.
Right in the backyard was the orchard. The apples had been individual
wrapped in blue bags to keep them in pristine conditions. Blemished or
unblemished, they tasted just as crisp and sweet to me.
A
couple of specialties of the Mungyeong area are schisandra (left)
and perilla curd soup 들깨칼국수 (right).Schisandra (Korean Omija 오미자) is very similar to, but not the same as red current (Ribes rubrum). Schisandra is said to mean "the fruit that has five flavors (sour, sweet, bitter, salty and spicy). As a supplement it is used to increase resistance to disease and stress, increasing energy, and increasing physical performance and endurance.
Abandon
rail lines have been developed as rail-bike excursion for
tourists. The amusement goes for two kilometers along an abandon railroad.
Its along a river, but the road is between the tracks and the river so it is
actually a prettier ride on a bike than a rail-bike -- but it is not as novel.By 2014, it had been abandon again.
Not
far from the rail-bikes is another ever so popular tourist attractions -- the
"Mungyeong Tourist Shooting Field" -- note the victim in the picture. It
is highly likely that something was either lost or gained in the translation.
"사격장" (sagyeogjang) could have been translated as "rifle range".The rail-bike and rifle range are across the road from a river. In a couple places there are signs illustrates the aquatic life in the river.
The river side also make a great location for an
open-sided pavilion. An the sunny afternoon and the pavilion made an
excellent time for the local gentlemen's club to meet.
From
Mungyeongsaejae to Mungyeong (over 30 km, 18 miles) there are a variety of back
roads, farm roads, village roads, paved trails and virtually abandoned highways
that can be strung together for an esthetically enjoyable bike ride.It is one of the prettiest 30km of riverside riding in the country,
Mungyeong
is a good size town with a commercial district that is large enough to
stock most needs. There are a dozen yeogwans, at least as many
restaurants, a fashion street, the typical range of mini-mart, stores
specializing in plumbing, electrical, tile, etc.The local farms supply the city market with mega quantities of peppers, garlic and numerous other foodstuffs.
There is a trail along the river in Mungyeong but in recent years our
destinations in this region have not taken us south along the river so except for random
glimpse of paths running along the river as we crossed it at various points, we have no sequential
information on the national networks development in this area.
From Mungyeong the national route
and the
Saejae Trail continues south along the Yangdong River Trail. The trail is
at its prettiest when it is high and the river stretches away on one side with
the contrast of the texture and color of agricultural activity and forest land
balancing it on the other side of the trail.
About
ten miles south of Mungyeong the Yangdong River joins the much larger Nakdong
River, which is flowing from the east at this point.
Andong
and Hohoe
(side trip)
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