Munui Cultural Properties Site

In 1980, the construction of Daecheong Dam led to making a plan to build Munui Cultural Properties Site in 1992. The complex was built on land of about 109,000 ㎡. The site is used as a history education venue as it contains traditional Korean pub restaurants, noblemen’s houses, commoners’ houses, a smithy, and an inn. The site is gaining popularity along with the recent public opening of Cheongnamdae.

Cheongwon-gun’s Munui Cultural Properties Site for Folk Cultural Relics, a Local Cultural Monument where the Past, the Future, and the Present Co-exist

When traveling from Cheongju to the direction of Daecheong Dam on local highway 32, one can arrive at Munui and soon thereafter will discover a huge lake called Daecheongho Lake. Munui Cultural Properties Site is located where one can look down upon the Daecheongho Lake. This is where many families or tourists from the cities come for a visit or recreation.

Welcoming Message

Pass through Munui, a fusion city dreaming of countryside ruggedness and as the freshness of a new city, and Daechungho Lake, dyed with greenery like an unfolded screen, will unfurl before you. Soon, you will meet Munui Cultural Properties Site on a hill of Yangseongsan Mountain. The site overlooks Daecheongho Lake which embraces silver sunshines from the blue sky.
Go past Yangseongmun Gate and stand before a totem pole and a pole signifying prayer for good harvest, and let the cool breezes from the lake mop away the sweat from the muggy summer weather. In 1980, the construction of Daecheong Dam paralleled a crisis in which local cultural assets were in danger of being submerged. So a basic plan was made to preserve such assets and offer locals a resting space in 1992. Therefore, 5 private houses, 1 government office building, a rampart and a gate, and a wide 16,000㎡ parking lot were built on the 132,000㎡ site. Passing a dolmen, a stone grave from the prehistoric era that appears to have come the Bronze Age in particular, and Gija Monument, which wishes for childbirths, you will be able to awaken through Chungsinmun Gate and Hyojagak.

Purpose of Establishment

Plan for Munui Cultural Properties Site were first laid down in 1992 after the construction for Daecheong Dam was completed in 1980, and the site was built on 132,000㎡ of land to be used as a living ground for education. The idea was to collect and display tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Cheongju in one place in an effort to preserve its traditional culture, which was disappearing due to rapid industrialization, and to keep the spirit and life of our ancestors alive.

Collections within the site are dolmens from various places– Adeuki dolmen of Munui, dolmen of Susan-ri, Miwon, and dolmen of Hakpyeong-ri, Naesu. Other heritage relocated to the site include Munsangwan, a government building of Munui County that was designated as Local Tangible Cultural Heritage 49, several private houses from Gwanjeong-ri, Nangseong-myeon, Nohyeon-ri, Munui-myeong, and Bugang-ri, Buyong-myeon, and a number of tombstones from the Munui area including Seo Gil Deok Hyojagak and Kim Seon Bok Chungsingak.

To show life-related customs of our ancestors, a good number of upper-class residences, a rural restaurant, mud-walled huts, a local blacksmith’s workshop, and walls were rehabilitated after historical research. The Exhibition Hall of Historical Artifacts is made up of the Artifacts Hall, which displays artifacts from various places in the country, including Yeongjodaewangtaesilgabonguigwe, designated as Local Tangible Cultural Heritage 70, which recorded the construction of King Youngjo’s placenta chamber in Museong-ri, Nangseong-myeon, and the Roof-tile Exhibition Hall, which displays old roof-tiles from Baekje Dynasty up until modern times according to time periods.

Besides that, Munui is also home to Yangseong-san Hiking Route, which is frequented by residents of Cheongju and within 10 minutes of walking distance, Small Dragon Cavern Fountain, Cheongnamdae Road, which serves as a pleasant drive course, a youth center where the youth of Cheongwon can exercise, and Artists Village, which is composed of writers residing in Chungcheongbuk-do area. Here, one can finally understand the meaning of the common saying, “When you come to Munui, you can see the culture.” The place is about 15km away from Cheongju towards Daecheong Dam. It takes about 20 minutes to get there by car. Buses run from Cheongju to Munui 30 minutes apart.

Main Arrangement

Introduction

The site shows the shape of a village where our ancestors lived in such places as Munui private houses, Nangseong private houses, a rural restaurant, and a playground as well as a gate made of twigs, earthen bricks, small cottages, and mud-walled huts where the common folks lived. To facilitate understanding of visitors, items of folk arts and tools that were necessary for everyday life were classified and displayed together with pictures and explanations on their use with an emphasis on food, clothing, and shelter. Also, on the back of an upper-class residence, a shabby hut which was used during 3 years of mourning by a filial son of the deceased as a symbol of Hyo (filial piety) culture was built alongside a family grave. In this shabby hut, which was established to teach new generation youth the philosophy of respect for elders and of filial piety and love in the family, an explanation of the procedure involved in traditional mourning and ancestor worship was presented, together with related pictures, ancestral worship table, and models of mourners.

A playground covered with blue carpet and lawn indicates that important events have been carried out here successfully in the recent past, including Daechengho International Environmental Art Festival in the spring and Cheongwon Cultural Festival in the fall to serve as a site for encompassing all the residents. On weekends, the site was used to show traditional weddings. From next year, a procession of a local magistrate is to be held on this site.

When moving up a little on the site, one can see a dolneowajib (a commoner’s house of Buyong) that is hard to find in the central region of the country. Stones were cut flatly like roof-tiles and placed as if they were roof-tiles. On Munsangwan, Local Tangible Cultural Heritage 49, a royal plate was placed, and a bowing ceremony was held in this building on every 1st day and 15th day of a lunar month facing north. The building was also used as an abode for visiting dignitaries from the capital.

As a pride of this Cultural Properties Site, one can not miss the Exhibition Hall of Historical Artifacts. The hall houses roof-tiles of the past. There are about 200 pieces that are displayed according to period, including Silla, Baekje, and Tang. About 90 folk materials, 150 books, and 60 other historical artifacts are also displayed. In the front court of the Exhibition Hall, Munsanseokgyo Bridge, which is presumed to have been constructed during the Goryeo period, has been restored.

Gyeongbu Expressway (8.7km) → Dangjinyeongdeok Expressway (9.5km) → Daecheonghoban-ro (1.6km) → Arrival