Poseokjeong
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The Poseokjeong site near Namsan in South Korea was built in the Silla period. The site once featured a royal pavilion–said to have been the most beautiful royal villa of the time—, but the only remains today is a granite water feature. This abalone-shaped watercourse highlights the importance of water in traditional Korean gardens. During banquets in the last days of the Silla kingdom, the king's official and noble guests would sit along the watercourse, chatting and reciting poetry, while wine cups floated in the water.
The site has an area of 7,432 m². There are no records of when Poseokjeong was built, but the stone channel is known to have been created in the time of Unified Silla. It was designated as historic site No.1 in 1963. Poseokjeong is named after the abalone-shaped water feature. The feature itself is about 10.3 metres in length and 5 metres in width, and consists of 63 blocks of granite. These block are on average 26 cm deep and 35 cm wide. Zelkova, pine and bamboo trees preserve a calm atmosphere at Poseokjeong today, but the garden was tended differently at the time. Some of the trees are several hundred years old.
When still in use, the watercourse is thought to have used water from the nearby stream in the Namsan valley. The water of the Namsan valley was appreciated by the Silla people for its purity and cleanliness. A stone turtle once spewed the water, but this feature does not remain today.
A legend is linked with Poseokjeong. According to this legend, the spirit of Namsan attended a partyx of king Heong-gang Wang. The king danced after the god, which according to the legend started a Silla dance known as eomu sansinmu (King Dances, God Dances).
King Gyeong-ae Wang (924-927) was killed at Poseokjeong by Gyeonhwon of later Baekje whilst having a party. For that reason Poseokjeong stands symbolically for the demise of the Silla kingdom.
