Tasting Apple Wine and Exploring Dinosaur Sites in Uiseong | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Sachon Village, a northern village in Uiseong known for many virtuous scholars, is a clan village of the Andong Kim and Pungsan Ryu families. The name Sachon Village is said to come either from the fertile land formed by alluvial deposits in the surrounding gorge or from Kim Jacheom, a descendant of the Goryeo loyalist Kim Bang-gyeong, who settled here in 1392 and named it after the Chinese Sachon Village. Though it appears to be an ordinary rural village, it is a representative yangban village in Uiseong, producing over 40 successful candidates in state examinations, including Kim Sa-won and Ryu Seong-ryong. It is historically significant as a center of militia activity during the Imjin War and Japanese invasions. Most of the village was burned during the Imjin War, so most of the remaining traditional houses date back about 100 years. Visitors can see about 30 traditional houses, including Manchwidang, built in 1585 by Kim Sa-won to cultivate scholarship and educate juniors. To improve the terrain, the Sachonri street forest was planted by Kim Jacheom when he relocated here; he believed that if the west was open, no distinguished figures would emerge, so about 500 windbreak trees were planted to block the west wind, now designated a natural monument. This forest serves not only as a windbreak but also attracts visitors with its beautiful scenery and seasonal charm. Additionally, there is the Uiseong Militia Memorial Hall, built to commemorate the militia's resistance and their spirit of sacrifice for the country, as well as the Sachon Village Observatory, which offers panoramic views of the village.

Gyeongdong Charcoal-grilled Ribs is a restaurant located in a quiet residential area of Uiseong downtown, known more for its local regular customers than tourists, and is a famous place for beef ribs in the Uiseong area. They personally select the highest grade 1 Hanwoo ribs, trim them, and age for 24 hours. The secret to their flavor is a marinade made by mixing Uiseong garlic with seven other ingredients. The meat is trimmed by hand to reduce fat, and the mild seasoning preserves the natural sweetness of the meat. For meals, cold noodles and steamed rice are available, and when ordering steamed rice, soybean paste stew is served together.

※ Due to a forest fire in March 2025, some buildings such as Yeonsujeon and Gawunru were completely destroyed, so please take this into consideration before visiting. Gounsa Temple was founded in 681 by Monk Uisang. Originally called Gounsa (高雲寺), about 200 years later it was renamed Gounsa (孤雲寺) after Goun Choe Chi-won, who practiced asceticism here and built Gawunru and Uhwaru, adopting his pen name. It was repaired several times during the Joseon Dynasty. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (Imjin War), it served as a forward base for Buddhist soldiers under Monk Samyeong, storing food and caring for the wounded, and during the Japanese colonial period, it was one of 31 headquarters nationwide, flourishing as a center of patriotic Buddhism. Within the temple grounds are buildings such as Daeungjeon, Geungnakjeon, Gwaneumjeon, Geumgangmun, Uhwaru, and Gogeumdang. Important cultural assets include the Uiseong Gounsa Stone Buddha, Gounsa Three-story Stone Pagoda, Gounsa Gawunru, and Uiseong Gounsa Yeonsujeon. The temple offers experience programs including templestay and temple food experiences. Templestay includes a free program called Heart-Pounding Templestay to relieve the stress of exam students, a Youth Healing Camp for university students, and the Mind Forest Path program with Buddhist services, tea talks with monks, and walking meditation for rest. The temple food experience is conducted at the Gounsa Temple Food Experience Center under the guidance of monks preserving the culinary traditions. The temple food program consists of classes including temple food, beginner, short-term, fermented food experience, and one-day courses.

The Uiseong Jeori Dinosaur Footprint Fossil Site was discovered in 1989 during road expansion work on a local road in Uiseong-gun, when soil was excavated from a mountainside area. It dates back to the mid-Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, about 110 million years ago, distributed in sedimentary layers of rivers and floodplains within the Gyeongsang Basin. It was the first dinosaur-related natural monument designated in South Korea and is notable for the preservation of highly dense dinosaur footprints. More than 300 footprints are observed across four different strata. The site provides valuable data for studying dinosaur appearance and behavior, such as foot size, stride, and walking direction, holding high academic value.

The Uiseong Geumseong-myeon Burial Mounds are located in the Daeri-ri, Tapri-ri, and Hakmi-ri areas, consisting of around 200 burial mounds with artifacts estimated to date from the 5th to 6th centuries. Large mounds measure 15–19m in diameter and 3–4m in height, medium ones 10–15m in diameter and 2–4m in height, and small ones under 10m in diameter, all densely clustered with most being circular earthen mounds. Excavations and investigations were conducted by the National Museum of Korea in 1960 and Kyung Hee University Museum in 1965. Results showed that the mound shape is horizontally compressed around the burial pit. The soil used for the burial pit was pure clay in very large quantities, but mostly different in color from soil in the area, suggesting it was transported from elsewhere. This implies a large labor force was mobilized to create the mounds, indicating they were constructed by politically powerful rulers. Jomun-guk was a tribal state during the Samhan period with its capital in the present-day Geumseong-myeon area of Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, existing until 185 AD (second year of King Beolhyu of Silla) when it was annexed by Silla. However, records of Jomun-guk are sparse, with only brief mentions in the Samguk Sagi and little other documentation. The Geumseongsan burial mounds are considered the capital site of Jomun-guk and are important for understanding local power and social structure in Uiseong, as well as relations between Uiseong and Silla.