0.
As a prologue, Park Dal-jae 1.
Gwanranjeong and Wonho Memorial Monument
A very obvious story on this side of the hill

2.
Cheongpung Lake and Cheongpung Cultural Heritage Complex 3.
Uirimji
Lakeside Fantasy Bowl

4.
Strawberry field in front of the city library 5.
Geumsu Mountain Jeongbangsa Temple, Neunggang Valley, and Eoreumgol
A piece of paper instead of a bouquet

6.
Baron's Holy Land 7.
Deoksan Nuri Village Bakery Cafe
Hoping for what is seen is not hope, so let's go

8.
Yangwha-ri Maitreya Buddha 9.
Jangrak-dong seven-story stone pagoda
The best temple site in Bangasayu

10.
Jeommal Cave 11.
Susan-myeon Shinpung Restaurant
Just one place with two pictures and one photo

12.
Goegok-ri Zelkova 13.
Byeolsaekkotdol Science Museum
Jinkyungsansu Hardboiled Wonderland

14.
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival 15.
Wolaksan Mountain 1
Obladi Oblada Sansansan

16.
Jecheon Oil Market and Gwangjang Bunsik, Red Odeng 17.
Wolaksan Mountain 2
There are a thousand plateaus and ten thousand valleys.

18.
Baekbong Mountain Ridge Inn 19.
Wolaksan Mountain 3
Until a single stone pagoda of a drinker's reward was erected

20.
Jayangyeongdang 21.
Sangcheon Cornelian Cherry Village
Yellow Ribbon, City of Fools

22.
Epilogue
Jecheon Pyohae-rok

Aspirin to relieve city-induced headaches and fevers, a small city full of nature

“Living in a city, despite the conveniences of concentration and the pleasures of densely packed spaces, is a loss and a loss for all of humanity, who retain deep roots in their natural DNA.
People suffer from pain for no reason.
Things like unexplained headaches, sudden fevers, and sudden lethargy wash over our daily lives like a tidal wave.
In the end, we have no choice but to go in search of what we have lost.
… … Travel is the way for the body to regain contact with nature.”
As the advertising slogan 'Escape from the City' suggests, there are many city dwellers who want to escape the stuffy daily life of the congested big city.
The irony is that we are so tied to the fact that the scenes we see on our smartphones, which we can't put down, are either lush green forests or open beaches.
However, there are not many people who can abandon everything and leave the situation where they are both a slave and a host to life.
To us, small-town essayist Jeong Won-seon presents twenty-two aspirins that awaken us to the true face of Jecheon, a mountain town in Chungcheong Province, quietly breathing between Gangwon-do and Gyeongsang-do, two hours by train from Seoul.

A stream slowly licking through the village with a cheerful tone under an old bridge, the blue shadows of summer mountains reflecting in an old reservoir, the warm rays of the setting sun highlighting the smile of Buddha carved into a cliff, the snow combed as finely as grains of rice on the slope leading up to the tomb of a stubborn scholar, the deep, old silence falling on the courtyard of a deserted Paleolithic cave, the croaking of frogs rising where a lonely stone pagoda stands in a ruined temple.
The gentle breeze caressing a pair of Maitreya statues that have been guarding the fields for 1,000 years, the elegance of the hill on the other side of the high, lonely, and desolate river where one man's lament seems to be heard...

Rather than simply skimming the surface of the mountain village, let's follow the author's bright gaze as he delves into the village's inner depths, as if he were giving it the nickname "10,000-hour traveler," and traces the history of the road and even historical and cultural changes.


A balanced story because it is biased

“Now, there is a tunnel under the pass, and the pass is neatly paved with asphalt, so you can easily pass by car, but in the past, you had to risk your life to cross it because of wild animals, thieves, riots, the bribery of officials, and foreign powers.
Among the records and historical facts of those who passed through this pass, those covered in this book are clearly biased.”
This book, which begins with a story about a pass famous for its weeping Bakdaljae Pass, is, as the author says, biased.
However, because this bias embraces and illuminates those who have been ignored by public history, yet who have always made history, we strive to correct the 'tilted playing field' as much as possible to realize people's equality rather than mechanical equality.
However, it is not simply about striking a balance; each story is the story of people who have personally investigated and inquired, and is filled with the voices of the residents, giving it an irresistible charm.

As you read, you may sometimes feel a sore throat and tears welling up in your eyes, but rather than a trip that ends with a few certified photos and a few famous restaurants, you will have a hazy experience where the leisurely space of Jecheon becomes engraved in each of your lives.
The reality of the lives of the people of Jecheon, which cannot be encountered without digging deep like a cave hidden beyond the layers of mountains, gently shakes the hearts of readers.


Sometimes cleverly, sometimes humorously

“It felt like we had already climbed several mountains, but the road seemed endless.
The road became narrower as it entered Okjeon-ri, and as it started to go uphill, it became so narrow that only one car could barely pass.
If you encounter a car coming down, you must back up until there is enough space for both cars to pass.
As I held the steering wheel tightly in tension, complaints came out of my mouth without me realizing it.
I didn't know it was this far, and it was so rough.
As I was going up the steep dirt road, almost brushing the trees with their branches spread out towards the road, a badger or a raccoon suddenly jumped out and I stopped suddenly, cursing without realizing it.
“Oh shit, this is just boring.”
“It is often thought that drinkers are happy only when they have alcohol, but in fact, the opposite is true.
A drinker is only unhappy when he has no alcohol.
He is simple.
One bottle will satisfy you in no time.
Two bottles will fill you with joy, three bottles will take you to paradise.
Drinking more doesn't necessarily mean you'll feel more satisfied.
Since alcohol is also food, overeating is not good.
You can eat it for a long time without harming your health.
Just because you're a drinker doesn't mean you only count the bottles in front of you.
I also think about the future.
“The alcohol I’ll drink tomorrow, the alcohol I’ll drink the day after tomorrow.”
Jeongwonseon's story of Jecheon also strikes another balance.
Balance the flow of the story, such as strong-weak-medium-strong-weak, slow-slow-quick-quick.
Sometimes, he slips in comedic episodes into the midst of solemn and flowing stories, and sometimes, he mixes satire and humor into serious and desperate stories, giving us a moment to catch our breath.
Sometimes, the story unfolds with a cat as the main character, humorously reinterpreting reality.
Just as a trip cannot be taken too seriously, this may also be the author's consideration to allow people to experience more of Jecheon's inner self with a light and cheerful excitement.


Jecheon, a small city that grows bigger and bigger in the story, is reconstructed.

“The Paleolithic people who came all the way from Africa to Jeommal Cave, the Wonho who burned down the pavilion on the hill overlooking the Seogang River, the old couple in their twilight years who cannot forget the village they left submerged in water and come back again, the landlady who opened a restaurant in her husband’s name and cannot leave, the bakers who cannot let the rural village become a mere urban colony and restore the community, the villagers of the mountain village who endured finger pointing and survived in the tragedy of civil war…
I wanted to talk about how beautiful it is to live rooted in the era of 'mobile', 'global travel', 'mega-cities', and 'hubs'.
Even though most of them ended in failure, became refugees, or ultimately met death, that failure was not simply defeat, and that is why we, the future generations, still remember it.”
The book contains many stories.
Some of them are lighthearted, while others shed light on moments of serious and profound tragedy that history has trampled upon.
In the twenty-two episodes that reenact the colorful patterns and meanings of life in a city, traveling back tens of thousands of years and across historical periods, modern times, and post-modern times, Jecheon, a small mountain village with a population of 130,000, becomes a city that is by no means small, with lights on in every small village and old grandmothers waving their hands clearly visible.

Modern people often think of travel as simply enjoying nature while enjoying all the amenities, but in the end, true travel is about deeply experiencing the lives of others, understanding the hearts of strangers, and sharing their thoughts.
This book, which covers Jecheon, a mountain village with an average altitude of 700 meters and a city filled with mountains, draws readers into a classic visit rather than a modern journey.
It showcases the charm of a neighborhood city where people live, not just service people and hotels, and makes us see Jecheon as a small, radial universe made up of villages, rather than a linear Jecheon made up of hot places.


A small story like an aspirin.
But it's a story with a distinct presence, like aspirin.
《Jecheon, Twenty-Two Aspirins》 is not used.
The downside may actually be that it is quite sweet.