음양陰陽

45. The Legend of Chilbulsa Temple

In Hadong County, Gyeongsangnam-do, there is a temple called Chilbulsa. If a person looks into the pond within the temple grounds, their reflection will always appear sevenfold. Long ago, when King Suro, the founder of Gaya, established his capital in Gimhae and became its king, his six younger brothers were forced to go to Hadong, where they built a Buddhist temple and became its abbots. Later, King Suro visited the temple, longing to see his brothers, but they had all already passed away. As he was returning after closing the temple, he looked into the pond within the temple grounds, and there, the reflections of his six brothers and himself appeared side by side, seven in total. So, King Suro named the temple Chilbulsa, and from then on, there is a legend that no matter who looks into it, seven reflections are seen in the pond's water.

May 1930, recounted by Mr. Kim Dong-bin of Yeosu-gun-eup, Jeollanam-do

*The history on the Chilbulsa website states that among King Suro's (42-199) children, seven sons left home to become monks following their maternal uncle, and five years later, on the 15th day of the 8th month of the 62nd year of King Suro's reign (103, Gye-myo), they simultaneously attained Buddhahood there. There is a difference between brothers and sons, and also a difference in whether King Suro is included among those who attained Buddhahood. If it was Suro's maternal uncle, it would be the mountain spirit of Gayasan, and if it was the maternal uncle of King Suro's sons, it would be the Indian monk Jangyu Bo-ok (?-?), known as the crown prince of Ayodhya.

Currently, with the academic community accepting the legend that Heo Hwang-ok (32-189) came from India to marry into that place with many foreign workers, there is no way to know the history of Chilbulsa. However, if 6-7 souls simultaneously appear in a pond reflecting eerie moonlight after people have died, that is no ordinary event. Even if it is a legend, questions remain about what could have happened for seven human figures, whether brothers or sons, and even including the king, who came from India, to die all at once.

King Suro (158 years old) is the protagonist of the egg-born myth sent down from heaven, and his queen, the Indian princess Heo Hwang-ok (177 years old), lived long lives by today's standards. Moreover, it is said that their genitals were so long that they could stretch out and hold a feast. Why was a nation with so many people, like Dangun, who descended from heaven to earth and opened up the human world, colonized by imperial Japan? There are no historical records left to study the mythical history, so we are forced to blindly follow the narrow Japanese-style research narrative like a mute. Perhaps, it is speculated that they became a Japanese colony because they were descendants of dozens of heavenly beings. For this speculation to be close to confirmation, a memorized answer about who the ancestors of the Korean people originated from would have to emerge, but that is unlikely to happen. Since history is not history unless it is memorized, and people have become those for whom there is no answer unless it is colonial historiography, should we say that even a legendary hometown is good?

https://www.chilbul.or.kr/doc/0102.php

46. Ebiyabaru Plain (Ebiyabaru) and Mushinmoku (Mushinkou) and Hinai (Ketsusen)

When the word 'Ebiya' is spoken, children usually shrink back. This word is now interpreted as 'Oh, how scary,' but it has an origin. Although the exact time is unknown, there was a time in the past when the Joseon army went to conquer Japan in large numbers. At that time, the Joseon army fought the Japanese army on a plain called Ebiya in Japan and killed every last one of them. Since then, Koreans have flinched when they hear the word 'Ebiya,' and so this word remains and has become a phrase to threaten children.

In Dolsan-myeon, Yeosu-gun, Jeollanam-do, there is a waterway (strait) called Musimmok (無心項). This waterway is actually a place where islands are connected by land that is only about 10 feet above sea level. From a distance, it looks as if the West Sea and the South Sea are connected, but in reality, they are separated by land. However, during the Imjin War (Hideyoshi's War), the Japanese navy, unaware of this, led their entire army to Musimmok, intending to escape through the waterway. They found themselves in a dilemma and were annihilated by Yi Sun-sin's navy. The Japanese at the time called it Musimmok (無心項), and it is said that they still call it that today.

Next to Musimmok, there is a river called Pinaechon (血川), which is said to have been named so because during the Imjin War, the Japanese navy was defeated there, and their blood stained the river red.

On the same day, Kim Dong-bin's talk

*The Ebisu plain can be called 'Ebisu-bara,' but it is not a common place name. There are Japanese surnames like Ebihara (蛯原) or Ebara (海老原). If we were to interpret it, it would mean a plain where shrimp play, so it might be a place name derived from a coastal area. How many people must have been killed on land and sea routes for the mere mention of it to cause such trembling? Why did they have to kill each other like that? The clash of civilizations has tirelessly continued the struggle for superiority.

An example of this is Musimmok, currently known as Museulmok in Pyeongsa-ri, Dolsan-eup, Yeosu-si. General Yi Sun-sin's large, long sword, or King Suro's and his wife's enormous genitals, suggest the existence of a tall, even long-lived, ethnic group. Occasionally, evidence artifacts that realize such imaginations are preserved in museums, but people do not believe what they see as real and live only with memories brainwashed by fakes.

The blood-soaked sea hides the true reasons and purposes of war, flowing serenely for a thousand, ten thousand years.

47. Legend of the Choi family of Guksadong

If it's the Imjin War (Hideyoshi's War), there's no one, from village elders and country folk to children and servants, who doesn't know about it. And it is said that the number of Japanese soldiers who invaded at that time was truly 3.8 billion. During this war, there was a wealthy man in Apomyeon who married his daughter to a Mr. Choi from the neighborhood. Mr. Choi had one son and soon died.

Soon after, the Imjin War broke out, and the wealthy man gathered hundreds of people, including servants and tenants, to build a fortress at the entrance of the valley of Guksasan Mountain and set up camp there. Hearing this, Mr. Choi's wife carried her young child on her back and went to her father to seek protection, but her father drove her away, saying it was inauspicious for a woman to enter the camp. So, she had no choice but to return home weeping.

However, that night, Japanese soldiers launched a surprise attack and destroyed the fortress on Guksasan Mountain, killing every single soldier inside. Only Mrs. Choi managed to escape the chaos. Today, several families with the surname Choi live in Guksadong, Apomyeon, and they are said to be her descendants.

February 1928, Guksadong, Apomyeon, Gimcheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, donated by Kim Mun-hwan

*The perceived 3.8 billion is truly an enormous number. Even if it was a war that lasted for decades, it would be difficult to deploy that many troops. Although symbolic, if the Imjin War involved 3.8 billion Japanese soldiers, it would be fair to say it was a global invasion of Joseon, not just Hideyoshi's invasion of Joseon.

Is what is visible true, and what is invisible false?