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Jain Gyejeong Forest

Jain Gyejeong Forest

Gyejeong Forest, located along National Road, between Gyeongsan Downtown and Jain, is a natural forest in a hilly area. The forest is now mainly composed of Asian fringe trees along with deciduous trees and broad-leaf trees like walter dogwood, zelkova, and lacebark elm. The grave and temple of General Han and General Han Play Training Center stand inside the forest, and Jain Traditional Local Office, built during the Chosun Dynasty, is well preserved. The forest is a natural relic that shows the trees that densely grew around Gyeongsan-si in the past.

Introduction

Gyeongsan Jain Dano Festival

  • Designated item : Intangible Cultural Asset No. 44
  • Date of designation : 1971.3.16
    • General Han Play is a Dano exorcism performed on Dano in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsan-gun, Jain-myeon.
      According to a legend in a Jain village, when Japanese pirates invaded the Korean Peninsula in either the Silla or Goryeo Era and inflicted harrowing pain on the villagers, General Han hatched a trick: he disguised himself as a woman wearing a gorgeous flower crown and danced with his younger sister to the music created by clowns.
    • When the Japanese invaders came down from the mountain to see his wonderful dance, General Han and his soldiers attacked and defeated them. It is said that since then, the villagers, who built General Han’s temple, have performed ancestral rites for him and have played magnificent games every Dano day. General Han Play is followed by sacrificial rites and Yeowonmu.
    • Whereas during the ancient times the villagers performed Yeowonmu even at the battlefield and went to General Han’s temple to perform rites there, at present, the villagers start this festival by gathering together at a wide market plaza and kicking off a parade towards General Han’s tomb.
    • Unlike other folk games, General Han Play showcases an exotic costume parade with a 3-meter-high flower crown. Its dance steps are so distinctive that it has much artistic value, and it is meaningful because it has a long history and because the villagers’ firm religion has become its spiritual pillar.
      (Artisan: Park Intae)