Jungnyeong is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...

in the

Sobaek Mountains The Sobaek Mountains are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwest ...

of central

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It reaches a height of . It stands on the flank of Sobaeksan, which reaches more than twice that height. The pass connects

Punggi-eup Punggi-eup ( Hangeul: 풍기읍; Hanja: ) is a town in the outer regions of Yeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It has a population of about 16,000. A portion of Sobaeksan National Park Sobaeksan National Park ( ko, 소백산국립 ...

Yeongju Yeongju () is a city in the far north region of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea, covering 668.84 km2 with a population of 113,930 people according to the 2008 census. The city borders Bonghwa county to the east, Danyang county of Nort ...

Gyeongsangbuk-do North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

with Danyang County in

Chungcheongbuk-do North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the ...

. Although today it is little more than a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

, in past ages it played a key role in connecting the eastern and western regions of the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

. Today the Jungang Line railroad passes underneath Jungnyeong; the tunnel is 4.5 kilometres long. It was also of great religious significance. During the early

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms o ...

period, the kings held spring and autumn rites here in honor of the mountain gods. These practices continued into the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

(1392-1910), when a temple to the mountain god was built here, known as "Jungnyeongsa." In addition, the area was used as a location for Buddhist worship; as Buddhism took root in Silla in the seventh century, the temples of Buseoksa, Choamsa and Huibangsa were built. Jungnyeong is also sometimes called by the pure Korean name ''daejae'' (대재). Both names mean "Bamboo Pass."

References

* * {{coord, 36, 54, 08, N, 128, 26, 07, E, region:KR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-kowiki, display=title Landforms of North Chungcheong Province Danyang County Landforms of North Gyeongsang Province Yeongju Mountain passes of South Korea Sobaek Mountains

See also

References