Finding Good Restaurants at Uiseong Garlic Market | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Uiseong Traditional Market operates on the days ending with 2 and 7 each month. It is the largest market in Uiseong, where a direct garlic marketplace is set up during the garlic harvest season, attracting merchants from all over the country. In addition to garlic, agricultural products, seafood, fruits, and various daily necessities are also sold. From 2004 to 2014, Uiseong Traditional Market underwent modernization projects including arcade installation and parking lot improvements to cleanly revamp the market.

※ 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.

Binggye Valley is a valley attraction with beautiful natural scenery, designated as a county park. It consists of basalt and rhyolitic tuff formed by Mesozoic Cretaceous volcanic activity. The stream (Ssanggyecheon) flows from northeast to southwest, generally matching the direction of the fault passing through here. The main attractions are the 'ice hole' where ice forms and the 'wind hole' where cold air blows out, registered as the natural monument 'Uiseong Binggye-ri Ice Cave.' Especially, the ice hole has an average temperature of 0.3℃, more than 10℃ lower than the outside temperature, with the highest temperature throughout the year below 5℃, and it has the longest freezing period in Korea (early March to early October). This low-temperature phenomenon occurs because the columnar joints developed on the fluvial cliff create a talus slope formed by weathering and erosion. It is explained by heat exchange through air circulation, and the airflow direction formed in the talus changes with seasons because the temperature of the air stored in the talus and the outside temperature vary. In late autumn to winter, cold outside air enters the talus, continuously settling and getting trapped at the bottom. In spring to summer, cold air inside the talus exits through the bottom, blowing out more strongly while warm outside air enters the talus. Northern plant species like Jommiyokgosari and Handeulgosari appear near this area. (Source: Uiseong Geopark)

Binggye Seowon was founded in the 11th year of King Myeongjong of Joseon (1566) by Hoedang Shin Won-rok to honor Mojae Kim An-guk. At its founding, it was located in Jangcheon, Uiseong-eup (currently upstream of Namdaecheon) and was granted royal recognition as Jangcheon Seowon in the 9th year of King Seonjo (1576). After being destroyed during the Imjin War, seven years later in 1600 (the 33rd year of King Seonjo), Confucian scholars decided to relocate it to its current site, and the original tomb was completed the following year with the name changed to 'Binggye [氷溪]'. At this time, Yi Eonjeok was enshrined alongside Kim An-guk. In 1689 (the 15th year of King Sukjong), local scholars gathered to honor Yu Seong-ryong, Kim Seong-il, and Jang Hyeon-gwang, who had strong ties to Uiseong. After being destroyed during the reign of King Gojong and left as ruins, it was restored in 2006 as part of the Confucian cultural tourism development project.