Life in Gimje flows at different speeds than that on the plains. Agricultural harvests sustained life, with faith and community patching everyday gaps while people expressed resistance and stood up to power. At the center was Geumsansa Temple located at the foot of Moak Mountain.
Geumsansa is a thousand-year-old temple founded during the reign of Baekje’s King Beopwang (599). It flourished during the reign of Goryeo’s King Munjong, serving as a spiritual pillar for the local community through Maitreya worship and later inspiring the Donghak movement and the Righteous Army movement. The Maitreya Buddha in Maitreya Hall has a height of 11 meters, embodying the earnest hopes of people yearning to escape the harsh realities. On weekends, visitors flock to stroll along the serene temple paths and enjoy the autumn scenery where the hall and colorful foliage harmonize. The temple houses many national treasures including designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.
Near Geumsansa Temple stands a worship hall with distinctive architectural beauty: Geumsan Church, established in 1908 by American Presbyterian missionary Rev. Lewis B. Tate (Korean name: Choi Ideok) and his wife. At the time, Confucian customs prohibited men and women from sitting together, so the chapel was constructed in “ㄱ” shape. This unique layout, along with preserved artifacts, illustrates the early life of the faith-based community. In contrast, the nearby Suryu Catholic Church boasts of elegant Western Gothic-style architecture. Its rusty bell produces a deep, gentle resonance even when lightly struck, leaving a lingering impression on the hearts of visitors.
At the heart of Gimje lies Wonpyeong Jipgangso, a site where the suppressed anger of the common people erupted. A butcher by birth, Dongnokgae reportedly donated it to General Kim Deok-myeong in 1894 during the Donghak movement, asking General Kim to help create a society without class discrimination. On one side of the yard stands a jangseung (traditional wooden guardian totem pole) inscribed with “Dongnokgae’s Dream.” The heavily frowned facial expression conveys the profound anguish of a person oppressed by social status. The current building is a restored structure.
The next stop is Arirang Literary Village created in Juksan-myeon, the setting of the novel Arirang, bringing the story vividly to life. The village is divided into the promotion center, Harbin Station, Naechon and Oeri villages, and modern Japanese colonial-era exploitation institutions. The promotion center presents the novel in a multidimensional way, allowing visitors to understand its content even without reading the book. In Naechon and Oeri villages, the homes of characters such as Son Pan-seok, Ji Sam-chul, Gamgol Daek, and Song Su-ik have been reconstructed. The thatched houses surrounded by low fences evoke the feel of a folk village, yet reading the informational plaques set up at each house brings the harsh realities of the time vividly to mind. In the modern exploitation section, the desperate pleas of villagers and harsh, brutal responses ignoring the pleas provide a stark contrast illustrating the extreme historical realities. Harbin Station is recreated at 60% of its actual size, vividly depicting the historical moment when patriot An Jung-geun shot Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi in front of a steam locomotive.
The journey through Gimje begins in golden fields, moves through Arirang Literary Village, and continues to Mangyeong Sunset Observatory glowing in red and Manghaesa Temple, ending at Simpo Port where deep darkness sets in. As golden waves flow into Mangyeong River, they meet the 33.9 km Saemangeum Seawall known as the “Great Wall of the Sea.” Listed in the Guinness World Records as the world’s longest seawall, Saemangeum combines the Gimje and Mangyeong plains, historically called “Geumman Plain.” The name was reversed and prefixed with “Sae” meaning “new” to form “Saemangeum,” promising a new golden miracle. Visitors can experience the ordinary yet essential daily miracles as they explore the golden sunlight and shimmering fields of Gimje.