Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site

정약용유적지

The one site that holds both the house Jeong Yak-yong grew up in and the grave he was buried in — Namyangju calls it the Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site, visitors more often Dasan Historic Site. On the low rise behind the house, the grave he shares with his wife of the Pungsan Hong clan looks out over the Han River; below it stands Yeoyudang, washed away by the great flood of 1925 and rebuilt in 1986 from surviving records and testimony. The same grounds hold the Mundosa shrine, a memorial hall and a culture hall, and a walk lined with a replica of the crane he designed for the building of Hwaseong Fortress. Admission is free.

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Yeoyudang at the Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site. The tile-roofed house stands with its front bays folded open and a plaque hung under the eaves at its centre; rough stone steps lead up to the veranda, and a yellowing ginkgo and pines rise behind the roof. A few visitors stand inside the opened rooms.

Place information

Korean name: 정약용유적지
Address: 11 Dasan-ro 747beon-gil, Joan-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do
Opening hours: 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30)
Closed: Every Mon (closed the following day instead if it falls on a public holiday) · Jan 1 · Seollal · Chuseok
Admission: Free
Operated by: Namyangju City

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Prices

Admission	Free

Source: Namyangju City culture and tourism — its page for the Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site: open 09:00–18:00 with admission until 17:30; closed on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok themselves and every Monday, and closed the following day whenever that Monday opens; admission free; address 11 Dasan-ro 747beon-gil, Joan-myeon, Namyangju; telephone 031-590-8580. It lists the grounds as the scholar's grave (a Gyeonggi Province Monument), Yeoyudang his house, the Mundosa shrine, a memorial hall, a culture hall and the culture walk, and records that Yeoyudang was washed away in the great flood of 1925 and rebuilt in 1986, and that the grave was designated on 4 May 1972 and holds him together with his wife of the Pungsan Hong clan · Sep 7, 2026

History

In the Joseon period, this area was called Sonae or Dureung, and Jeong Yak-yong’s family had lived here since the time of his ancestor five generations earlier. In spring 1800, he gave up all his official posts and returned to his home village. He named his house Yeoyu, meaning ‘be careful and watchful’, taking the name from a passage by Laozi and making it a guide for his life. With a stream in front and a low hill behind, the house was also called Sugak, meaning ‘pavilion by the water’.

During the Korean Empire, when people previously branded as criminals were being rehabilitated, Jeong Yak-yong received the posthumous title Mundo in 1910. The shrine Mundosa takes its name from that title, and his descendants hold a memorial rite at his grave each year on the anniversary of his death.

1800
Return home and Yeoyu
In spring, Jeong Yak-yong gave up all his official posts, returned home and named his house Yeoyu.
1910
Posthumous title Mundo
Jeong Yak-yong received the posthumous title Mundo.

Namyangju City culture and tourism — its page for the Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site: open 09:00–18:00 with admission until 17:30; closed on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok themselves and every Monday, and closed the following day whenever that Monday opens; admission free; address 11 Dasan-ro 747beon-gil, Joan-myeon, Namyangju; telephone 031-590-8580. It lists the grounds as the scholar's grave (a Gyeonggi Province Monument), Yeoyudang his house, the Mundosa shrine, a memorial hall, a culture hall and the culture walk, and records that Yeoyudang was washed away in the great flood of 1925 and rebuilt in 1986, and that the grave was designated on 4 May 1972 and holds him together with his wife of the Pungsan Hong clan · Sep 7, 2026

What to see

Book copies and diorama

The memorial hall holds copies of Mokminsimseo, Gyeongseyupyo and Heumheumsinseo. A diorama of the Suwon Hwaseong construction site shows how Jeong Yak-yong used the geojunggi and nokro.

Nearby

Hongneung from the red spirit gate: stone figures ranged along both sides of the path to the sleeping hall, and the burial mound on the hill directly behind it

Hongneung and Yureung Imperial Tombs

Imperial tombs of the Korean Empire, so the form departs from every other Joseon royal tomb: a sleeping hall in place of the T-shaped shrine, and stone qilin, elephants and camels lining the approach. The graves of the imperial family lie inside the same walls.

Olympic Park

The venue complex built for the 1988 Olympics shares one perimeter with an earthen fortress from the early Baekje period. Several of the arenas have been renamed and now host concerts, so sports halls, an archaeological site and concert venues sit on the same walking route.

Garak Market

A public wholesale market run by the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation. Each division auctions on its own clock — fruit and vegetables are scattered from 02:00 to 23:00 by commodity, seafood opens at 23:00 with fresh fish. The grounds stay open around the clock, but no auction runs from Saturday evening to Sunday dawn.

Sareung’s T-shaped shrine and the ridge behind it, the stone figures of the burial ground visible up the grass slope among the pines

Sareung Royal Tomb

The tomb of Queen Jeongsun, Danjong’s consort. She died stripped of her rank and was buried with the rites due a grand prince’s wife; nearly one hundred and eighty years later she was restored, and the grave became a royal tomb.

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