Hahoe Village is a town of Yangban, korean nobles where Joseon dynasty’s history lives and breathes. It is a traditional folk village registered as a World Heritage Site and is a clan village with its own original culture. It is said that the first ...
Hahoe Village is a town of Yangban, korean nobles where Joseon dynasty’s history lives and breathes. It is a traditional folk village registered as a World Heritage Site and is a clan village with its own original culture. It is said that the first ancestor of Ryu family, Ryu Jong-hae set up the site after climbing Hwasan, the main mountain of the village, several times to examine the flow of water, mountains and various feng shui conditions. After that, it is presumed that Ryu's family turned out great figures such as Ryu Un-ryong and Ryu Seong-ryong, laying the foundation for the same clan as today.
Hahoe Village was called Hahoe Village because the water of the Nakdonggang River flows around the village. It is a place that anyone can see as a great place in feng shui theory due to its good location and various conditions of feng shui, including the surrounding waters and shapes. On the signboard at the entrance of the village, it is recorded that the village is a good place based on feng shui theory, which includes Hangjuhyung and Yunhwabusuhyung each of which means a shape of a boat sailing forward and of a lotus flower floating on the water. It’s also a good place in feng shui theory because the flow of mountains and water is shaped like Taegeuk. Anyone can see the entire village when they climb up Buyongdae across the river, and the water path is like an S-shaped Taegeuk pattern, which is Hangjuhyung and Yunhwabusuhyung in terms of feng shui.
Metaphorically, in order for ships to easily sail on the water, the Haengjuhyeongguk must be equipped with keys, masts, and anchors. So, in the village, a zelkova tree was planted at the site of the Samsindang, the center of the ship, and the pine forest of Mansongjeong was viewed as an anchor to achieve the completion of
the Haengjuhyeongguk. This zelkova tree was planted more than 600 years ago when Ryu Jong-hye of the village first settled down, and it shows that he understood the situation of this village well and used feng shui a lot in his daily life from the beginning. In addition, the lotus flower floats on the water, and there is a Myeongdang site in the middle surrounded by water on all sides. In this situation, the hyulchu, the central spot is in the flower stamen area, and the village
people consider the zelkova tree to be sacred because the zelkova tree of the Samsindang planted more than 600 years ago corresponds to the flower stamen of a lotus flower, so the village holds an annual ritual here.
In addition, Hahoe Village is said to be surrounded by mountains and water streams, so it is also called both a taegeuk-shaped condition that constitutes the mountain taeguek and water taeguek, and an iron type based on the shape of the village. This variety of shapes means that no one denies that the village is a good place in feng shui theory. However, as a saying Poongsumujeonmi means, no perfect land exists, and this village is exposed to the cold northwest wind of winter, which is Korea's seasonal wind because the energy between the Wonji mountain in the west and Buyongdae in the north is relatively weak. In order to eliminate this defect in the village, a forest called Mansongjeong was created in the northwest to act as a Bibo saving the village.
In addition, feng shui interprets that the water flowing in front of the village must flow slowly to supply a lot of live energy to the village. In the middle of Hwacheon in front of Mansongjeong, Brother Rock which can be seen as a Hwapyo, slows down the flow rate and Buyongdae rock cliff slows the rate even further making the stream a long winding Dongchulseoryu water path. Another advantage of this village is that the stream of Nakdong River flowing from the Homin Reservoir on the north side and the small river that joins the Nakdong River and the stream of Nakdong River flowing from behind the Hwasan become the Gongbaesu of the village, and the stream of Nakdong River flowing out behind Buyongdae becomes the Amgongsu of the village and condenses the vitality of Hahoe Village once more.
Feng shui interprets that if there is such an invisible Amgongsu beyond Cheongryong Baekho and Ansan, the energy of the boguk is concentrated in the Hyul, so the invisible Amgongsu is much better than the visible water. Therefore, in Inja Suji, Myeongjobulyuamgong can be found which means that the visible water stream is worse than the Amgongsu. Considering the whole area of Hahoe village, it is a typical Baesanimsu area, with Hwasan mountain in the east acting as Baesan Mountain and the Nakdonggang River, the Hwacheon in front of the village, acting as an Imsu area. The mountain range coming down from the Hwasan rises at the location of the zelkova tree in Samsindang in the middle of the village, looking like a pot lid upside down, and its shape is low in front and high in the rear. In addition, the entrance to the village is narrow because it is possible to enter the village only after passing through the high passway into the village, which is the requirement of a typical Joenckakhuguan. Therefore, it meets all the Yangtaeksamyogyul requirements to be a good place.
In particular, it is believed that Samtaebong Peak and Moonpilbong Peak next to it, which are seen in front of Yangjindang, the head house of Pungsan Ryu, sent good energy to the houses and had a great influence on the brothers’ fortune to be successful government officials, Ryu Unryong and Ryu Seongryong. In feng shui, it is said that if there is a pointed Moonpilbong like a brush around the hyuljang, central site, a great writer is produced.
Hahoe Village, located in such a good place, has produced a lot of talented people in the Joseon Dynasty as the home of scholars, and numerous cultural heritages remain intact, including seowon, various official residences, their old houses, and various treasures. With such a history, the value of preserving this place as a traditional village is high. In 2010, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name of "Hahoe and Yangdong," a Korean historical village, along with Yangdong Village in Gyeongju.