The ginkgo tree in front of Dodong-seowon is over four hundred years old, a massive trunk with branches spreading wide, and in early November it turns a brilliant yellow and sheds its leaves into a golden carpet that photographers come from all over Korea to see. Behind it, the academy itself climbs a gentle slope in a series of courtyards and wooden halls, with a view over the Nakdong river. Dodong-seowon was founded in the sixteenth century to honour Kim Goeng-pil, a Neo-Confucian scholar executed in a political purge, and it is one of the nine Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2019.
Seowon were private academies where young men studied Confucian classics, prepared for state examinations and honoured the memory of great scholars with rituals. They were usually built in quiet places, close to nature, to encourage reflection. Dodong-seowon is known for its stone walls, decorated with patterns, and for the careful layout of its buildings, from the lecture hall to the shrine at the top.
The area is in Dalseong county, on the south-western edge of Daegu, a city of over two million. The countryside around is a mix of rice fields, orchards, hills and small villages, with the Nakdong river flowing south toward Busan. The river is lined with cycle paths, and the roads along it are pleasant, with little traffic. To the west, Gayasan, a mountain national park, is home to Haeinsa temple and the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of more than eighty thousand wooden printing blocks, also on the UNESCO list.
Riders should note that motorcycles are banned on Korean expressways, so use national and local roads, which are generally good. Fuel and food are easy to find in Daegu and the towns around. Try the local specialities, such as makchang, grilled pork intestines, a Daegu favourite, and the apples for which the region is famous. Autumn is the best time to visit, for the ginkgo and the mild weather.