BOEUN GUN

There is a mountain on the border of Hoenam myeon and Hoein myeon which is called Guksabong, 552m above sea level.

According to the poongsoo jiri seol, the theory of divination based on topography, around the peak of the mountain, there was a rare myeongdang, propitious site for a grave. If somebody buried his father or mother on the site, his children and great children and so on would be prosperous. But the contradictory side effect of using the site as a grave was believed to cause severe drought in the area, starving other residents to death who were mostly farmers in those days. Only after the corpse was unearthed and the ritual for rain was held, the drought would end, according to oral tradition in the region. There were a number of conflicts between those who wanted to bury his parents on the site and others who wanted to block the efforts.

There was a big heap of stones on the peak. And the following story has been handed down from the past. In the Koreo age, a widow was living with one son and one daughter in the isolated house in the mountain far from the village. The son and daughter was very courageous and nimble. In addition, they were very strong. The widow was happy to see the two offsprings.

However, she had a agony. Every night, The mountain spirit would appear and tell her that one of her son or daughter should be killed, and disappear. One night, the spirit appeared without exception. Very angry, the spirit shouted to her, "Your son and daughter are too abnormal. If one of them were not killed, we ould not be able to control heavenly energy. If you were reluctant any more, the heaven would be too angry." The widow could not be hesitant any more. So, she called the two, and offered a bet, and told them the loser would be sacrificed.

The widow asked her son to take a round trip to Seoul wearing wooden clogs and taking a donkey in a day. She asked her daughter to build a fortress wall on Migoksan mountain. They followed her suggestion. In time, her daughter almost finished building the wall. If she carried stones on her apron one more time, the job would be over. It was clear that her son would lose the game. Mothers in those days considered son as more precious than daughter. She, like other mothers, wanted to sacrifice daughter, if she had no choice. So, she tore her daughter's apron secretly. The daughter's palms were bleeding, and she became tired to death, carrying big stones to build the wall. But, eager to win the game, she put stones in her apron and stood up to go up to the mountain. But, then, stones fell through the hole of the apron. She repeated collecting stones in apron, and letting them falling through the hole. In the process, son finally returned, and the daughter was killed. The pile of stones is said to be those she let fall through the apron, and the very incomplete stone wall is said to be the Amisan Seong.