Sainam Rock
- Address
- 37, Sainam-gil, Daegang-myeon, Danyang
- Tel
- Tourist Information Center ☎ 043-422-1146
- Website
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Colorful folding screen like cliff of 50 meters Danyang Sainam Rock
(Eight Scenic Views of Danyang/National Scenic Site/National Geopark)
Danyang Sainam Rock is located amidst the clear blue waters of Namjocheon Stream (Ungyecheon Stream). Despite being granite, the rock is colorful in brown, green, and gray, and is split horizontally and vertically (vertical and horizontal joints), giving it a very rare appearance. Some say it is reminiscent of the work of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian.
Because of these joints, it's easy to see where the rock has fallen apart, especially at the bottom, where it's brown in color.
※ Due to the high risk of falling rocks, the lower part of the Sainam Rock is strictly off-limits..
Yeokdong U tak*, a scholar of the late Goryeo Dynasty, was from Danyang and often visited this place. In honor of this, during the Joseon Dynasty, the governor of Danyang, Im Jae-Kwang, named it 'Sainam' after Yeokdong U tak's fourth-level position in the government.
* Yeokdong U tak(1262-1342), the first writer of Sijo (Korean poetry) in Hangul, wrote the poem "Tanroga," lamenting his getting old, and once made a jibusangso (an appeal with an axe) to King Chungseon of Goryeo.
Danwon Kim Hong-do's Sainam-do Painting
Danwon Kim Hong-do came to paint Sainam Rock, but after ten days of thinking about it, he gave up. A year later, he came back and painted 'Sainam-do' and included it in his 'Album of Paintings from Byeongjin Year (1796)*'. Meanwhile, Chusa Kim Jeong-hui praised Danyang Sainam Rock as a 'folding screen from heaven', and when you look around, including the surrounding cliffs, you will find that Chusa's words were quite accurate.
*Completed in 1796, National Treasure, in the collection of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. In addition to Sainam Rock, Danyang Dodamsambong Peaks, and Oksunbong Peak are also included.
- Sparkling nature works around the Sainam Rock: Only ten days a year, waterfalls 'by chance'.
- After crossing the Sainam Rock Suspension Bridge, there is a dark trace on the opposite cliff. If it rains hard enough, you'll be able to see a waterfall flowing along it, which, like Jeju's Eongtto Falls, can only be seen when it rains hard enough. If the rain is inconvenient, you can take solace in the fact that you can only see this waterfall about 10 days a year.
- The Buddha Figure made by Nature
- If you look at the cliff on the far left side of the Sainam Rock, you'll see a large face figure. Some call it a Buddha, others call it 'Optimus Prime' from the movie Transformers. It's hard not to marvel at the mysterious complexity of the formations that nature has carved over tens of millions of years.
The Nomadic Turtle Rock
In the middle of the Suspension Bridge Valley is a large rock that, depending on the angle you look at it, looks like a turtle. It looks like it's just emerged from between the Saseondae Rock, about 20 meters upstream.
Another thing to look for
If you look closely at the lower part of the Danyang Sainam Rock, you'll find a number of names in Chinese characters*. In total, more than 270 names have been found, and the presence of so many traces suggests that the ancients were very impressed by the Danyang Sainam Rock. There is also a joke that it should be called "Sign-am Rock" instead of "Sainam Rock" because there are so many signatures.
* Engraved letters
If you go to the cliff called "Dogwangbyeok Wall" near Sainamgyo Bridge, you can find government promotional materials from the 60s. It's fun to travel back in time and explore the past.
- Entrance fee: Free
- Parking: Available for compace and full-size vehicles
- Operating Hours: No restrictions
Map
- Address
- 37, Sainam-gil, Daegang-myeon, Danyang