Pine trees older than anyone can remember shade the entrance to Sosu-seowon, the first Confucian academy in Korea to receive a royal charter. It was founded in 1543 by Ju Se-bung, a local magistrate, to honour An Hyang, a scholar of the Goryeo period who brought Neo-Confucianism to Korea from China. A few years later, the famous philosopher Yi Hwang, who also served in the area, petitioned the king to grant it official recognition, and the academy received a royal plaque in 1550 with the name Sosu. Since 2019 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies.
The seowon was a place where young men of the yangban, the scholar-aristocracy, studied the Confucian classics, prepared for civil service exams and performed rituals in honour of great scholars. The buildings are simple and elegant, wooden halls with tiled roofs set among the trees beside a stream. There is a lecture hall, a shrine, dormitories and a library, and the whole complex has a calm, contemplative atmosphere. Next door is the Seonbichon, a reconstructed village of traditional houses where visitors can experience the life of the Joseon scholars.
The area around Yeongju is mountainous and green, at the foot of the Sobaek range. Not far away is Buseoksa, one of the oldest and most beautiful temples in Korea, with a wooden hall, the Muryangsujeon, that dates from the Goryeo period and is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the country. The view from the temple over the ridges of the mountains, especially at sunset, is famous.
The riding is excellent, with winding roads through the mountains and valleys, little traffic and good surfaces. The road over the Jukryeong pass, an old route between the southeast and Seoul, climbs through forest with tight bends. Note that motorcycles are not allowed on Korean expressways, so you will be riding on the national and provincial roads, which is no hardship here.
Yeongju has fuel, shops and restaurants. The region is known for ginseng, especially from Punggi, and for its apples. Try a bowl of bibimbap or a hearty stew. Autumn, with red maples and clear skies, is the best season; winters are cold and snowy, summers hot and humid with a monsoon season.