“The blood flowed all the way down to that stream over there. That is why this is called ‘Pikkeut Village’.”

On the 10th, at the senior center in Dongchon 1-ri, Anjeong-myeon, Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, 85-year-old Kim Gwang-Ja pointed beyond the paddy ridge outside the window as she spoke. In this small village of 133 residents, Grand Prince Geumseong and King Danjong are names as familiar as King Sejong the Great. This was the case long before the film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, now a hit with more than 12 million viewers, took off at the box office.

Other residents who had come to the senior center said in unison, “Even if people in our village have not yet seen the movie (‘The Man Who Lives With the King’), everyone watched the drama (‘The King and the Queen’),” adding, “Was it not Grand Prince Geumseong who protected the young king until the very end?” ‘The King and the Queen’ is a 1998 drama that portrays the power struggles within the early Joseon royal court, including Danjong’s accession and King Sejo’s usurpation.

Kim, who says she married into this village at 20 and has lived here her whole life, said a tragic history tied to the movement to restore Danjong lingers over this ‘Pikkeut Village’. “I heard that many villagers were accused of treason and died,” she said, adding, “There are many places around the village connected to that incident.”

In 1457 (the third year of King Sejo), Grand Prince Geumseong, who was seeking Danjong’s restoration, did not abandon his plans even after being exiled to the Sunheung Dohu-bu. He conspired with Sunheung’s magistrate Yi Bo-Heum, but accounts say the plot was exposed by denunciations from lady-in-waiting Kim Ryeon and government slaves. In the end, Grand Prince Geumseong was executed, and Danjong’s father-in-law Song Hyeon-Su was also put to death. As the embers of restoration were extinguished, Danjong, too, ultimately met his death.

The aftermath of the incident known as the Jeongchuk disaster was even more horrific. It is recorded that the Andong magistrate led forces to set fire to the Sunheung Dohu-bu and kill the populace, and that mounted troops and armored troops were dispatched from Hanyang to carry out a second massacre.

An expression also follows that “there was not a single living person within 30 ri of the vicinity.” At the time, Sunheung and the surrounding area were recorded as 284 households with 1,679 people. Researchers estimate the number of victims at around 300.

Branded a land of treason, the Sunheung Dohu-bu was eventually abolished. In the process, many people were dragged to Cheongdari Bridge over the Jukgyecheon Stream and lost their lives, according to accounts. There is also a theory that the phrase “brought from under a bridge” arose from the story that government troops took in the surviving children and raised them.

The story of Pikkeut Village leads on to Gochiryeong in Yeongju. Gochiryeong, one of the three passes over the Sobaek Mountains, is the closest route linking Uipung-ri in Danyang County, North Chungcheong Province; Hadong-ri in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province; and Marak-ri in Dansan-myeon, Yeongju. It was also the ill-fated road traveled by the secret envoys of Grand Prince Geumseong and Danjong.

At the summit of the pass stands Sanryeonggak, a shrine that enshrines the Mountain Spirits of Sobaek and Taebaek. The Taebaek Mountain Spirit signifies Danjong, and the Sobaek Mountain Spirit signifies Grand Prince Geumseong.

Kim Gi-Jin, head of the Yeongju Cultural Center, said, “Rather than resenting Danjong and Grand Prince Geumseong, residents of the Sunheung area have continued memorial rites honoring their loyalty,” adding, “We are now developing this into a cultural festival together with Yeongwol County and holding it as a local celebration.”

The altar honoring Grand Prince Geumseong stands about 200 meters northwest of Sosu Seowon. In the 47th year of King Sukjong, Sunheung magistrate Lee Myeong-Hee received the king’s permission and installed the altar at the site associated with Grand Prince Geumseong. To the west of the altar stands a huge ginkgo tree called ‘Apgaksu’, said to be so named because its base resembles a duck’s foot.

An official from Yeongju City said, “There is a legend that after the Jeongchuk disaster the tree withered and died, but about 200 years later, during King Sukjong’s reign, when Grand Prince Geumseong was posthumously reinstated and restored to office and Sunheung-bu was reestablished, new shoots sprouted again,” adding, “We will work to organize and widely promote cultural content related to Grand Prince Geumseong.”