Ganggyeong Minaedari

About this place

If you go a little upstream along the riverbank where Chaeungyo Bridge over the Ganggyeongcheon Stream stands, you will find a bridge made of cement, and beside it a small stone bridge called Minaedari has been installed. This is the site of the former Ganggyeong Port, which is said to have been an important hub of nationwide trade; the name Minaedari comes from the fact that this river was called Minae. During the Joseon Dynasty, Ganggyeong Minaedari was the largest bridge in the Samnam region connecting Chungcheong-do and Jeolla-do Provinces. The bridge measures 30 m in length, 2.8 m in width, and 4.5 m in height. Long stones were neatly stacked to form three rainbow-shaped arches, and finely dressed stones were carefully piled up in between. About halfway along the riverbank side of the bridge is carved the face of an animal whose exact form is hard to identify; its eyes resemble those of a jangseung (village guardian pole), its nose is blunt, and it has ear shapes and a mane on either side of its face. The Eunjin Migyobi monument that once stood beside the bridge is kept at the Buyeo National Museum. According to its inscription, in the 7th year of King Yeongjo of Joseon (1731), the bridge was built at the residents' request under the leadership of Song Man-un, a man from Ganggyeong village.