Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province 119 Safety Experience Center is a new-concept edutainment facility combining education, experience, and play. It offers experiences of disasters ranging from typhoons, traffic accidents, and fires to aircraft emergencies, escape devices, and earthquakes, which are difficult to encounter in daily life, teaching how to respond when dangerous situations arise. On a spacious site of 100,000㎡, there are five unique themed halls with 11 buildings and nature-friendly outdoor experience facilities designed to provide safety experiences in a storytelling format suitable for all ages from children to adults. Outside, there is a playground and photo zone for children, along with fire trucks on display. (Source: Jeonbuk 119 Safety Experience Center website)
A small hill in Seongga-ri, Imsil-eup, about 50m from Bonghwang-ro on the road from Imsil-eup to Sunchang, becomes a spectacular sight as thousands of egrets and herons gather here every year. Every spring, egrets and herons flock to this place to build nests and live, then return south in autumn. The sight of them nesting and settling in a pine forest of about 5,000 pyeong resembles a fairyland, attracting both domestic and foreign visitors who come to capture this spectacle on camera. Egrets began to arrive here during the late Joseon period when a local wealthy man, Jin Jaehwang, built a villa here and planted 42 white pines and zelkova trees to create a forest. Today, the villa is gone and a village has formed. Although the egret population, which once numbered around 4,000 ten years ago, has decreased to about 500 recently, the warm care of residents and county efforts have established this site as a migratory bird habitat.
Imsil Hyanggyo was established in 1413 and is a national local educational institution of the Goryeo and Joseon periods, founded to enshrine memorial tablets of distinguished Confucian scholars and conduct memorial rites, as well as to educate and enlighten local residents. It was partially destroyed during the Imjin War but was repaired by Kim Seong-geun, who restored Daeseongjeon, and Won Se-cheol, who repaired Myeongnyundang. Later, Daeseongjeon, Seojae, Donga Je, and Gyogung were renovated, and the site has undergone several repairs since then, maintaining its structure. During the Joseon Dynasty, the state provided land, titles, and slaves, appointing one instructor to teach 30 students, but after the Gabo Reform, educational functions ceased. Instead, spring and autumn rites called Seokjeon are held to honor Confucius, and incense is offered on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. Imsil Hyanggyo is currently designated as a cultural asset of Jeollabuk-do. The nameplate of Myeongnyundang at Imsil Hyanggyo is said to be derived from the calligraphy of Ming Dynasty official Zhu Zhifan. There is a courtyard between the outer three gates, Myeongnyundang, Seojae, and Donga Je, which is used for various educational purposes. Next to Myeongnyundang are two ginkgo trees about 700 years old, designated and maintained as protected trees.
Located on the mid-slope of Yongyosan (龍要山, also called Yongo-san), known as the Ansan of Imsil-eup, this temple was founded in the late 9th century by Silla monk Jingam Guksa after establishing Sinheungsa, initially as a small thatched hut. The temple was surrounded by stands of royal bamboo, hence named Jukrimam. It is said that a monk once set fire to remove the kudzu vines, destroying even the royal bamboo. While Sinheungsa was created as a training center, Jukrimam served both training and missionary purposes. In 1504, Ji-eom, the fourth descendant of the Goryeo-era monk Bowuguksa, rebuilt it, but it was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592-1598 (Imjin War). The current Jukrimam was restored by dismantling and reassembling a private house from Jeollanam-do. Originally, it had a main hall with five kan, a Chilseonggak, and a Sansingak. These buildings burned down again during the Imjin War and the Korean War. The present main hall, Chilseonggak, and Sansingak were rebuilt in 1981. In front of the hermitage stand three old zelkova trees, the largest about 25 meters tall, reflecting the temple's long history.
3.1 Dongsan is a hill created to commemorate the 3.1 Independence Movement in the Imsil region, which began on March 10 with a banzai demonstration led by students of Osu-ri Elementary School in Osu-myeon. The Osu 3.1 Independence Movement was an anti-Japanese struggle united by people of all religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Cheondoism, Christianity, as well as educators, students, and the public. Facilities in the hill area include a monument, an independence declaration monument, an octagonal pavilion, and the 3.1 Gate. The 3.1 Movement Monument in the hill was erected to carry on the noble spirit of the 1919 March 1st Independence Movement, to honor the passionate spirit of national independence in the Imsil region, and to commemorate the patriotic martyrs who sacrificed themselves. After visiting the hill, it is recommended to also visit nearby places such as Jugrimam, Gwiraejeong, and Sunchang Namgyeri Stone Jangseung, along with many other tourist attractions.
A temple located on Godeoksan in Jeollabuk-do, affiliated with the Korean Buddhist Taego Order. It was founded in the late 18th century. At that time, there was a stone Buddha from the Baekje period on this site, and the temple was established to enshrine this stone Buddha. When originally founded, it was called Unsuam, named after the nearby place called Unsugol. Since then, no detailed history of the temple has been passed down. Recently, Beopjin, who was appointed as chief monk, changed the temple's name to Unsusa. The buildings include a main hall, Mireuk Hall, and monks' quarters. The relics include the Mireuk stone Buddha, which is estimated to have been erected during the Three Kingdoms period based on its construction technique and stands 2 meters tall. There is a legend about this stone Buddha: long ago, a band of thieves targeted only wealthy houses in Imsil-eup and stole their property. They ran away all night but kept wandering around the town and were eventually caught, which is said to have been due to the spiritual power of the Mireuk stone Buddha.
