General Shin Dolseok's Birthplace and Historic Site

About this place

The historic site of General Shin Dolseok is a commemorative space dedicated to Shin Dolseok (1878–1908), a righteous army (uibyeong) commander who joined the anti-Japanese struggle at a young age and gave his life for his country. Following the Eulsa Treaty of 1905, General Shin raised a righteous army and achieved outstanding military feats, annihilating Japanese forces in Yeongdeok, Yeongyang, Ulchin and surrounding areas. He was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea's Order of Merit for National Foundation (Presidential Citation) in 1962. His birthplace was a thatched-roof house originally built by his father Shin Seok-ju around 1850, but it was burned down by Japanese colonial authorities around 1940 to suppress the spirit of independence. Rebuilt as a tile-roofed house in 1942, it was restored to a thatched-roof house in 1995. Within the historic site stands a shrine housing the general's portrait dressed in tiger's clothing — befitting his nickname 'Tiger of Taebaek Mountain' — and an indoor memorial hall. The hall displays records of General Shin's biography, legends, and the Taebaek Mountain battles, along with accounts of Japanese imperial atrocities and righteous army resistance activities. Exhibits include 18 artifacts such as Japanese weapons and torture instruments, and weapons used by the righteous army at the time, including swords, matchlock guns, and spears. Outside stands a commemorative stone poem, said to have been written by the general at age 27 when he climbed Wolsongjeong Pavilion in Pyeonghae to express his patriotic grief, along with chronicle records of his life from childhood legends to righteous army activities.