Ullimsanbang, Jindo-gun

Ullimsanbang (Atelier)

"Ullimsanbang (Atelier)" was the name of a studio where the painter Sochi worked in the 19th century. The name of the atlier, Unrim, which means "forest of mist," came from the misty landscape of its location, deep in the forestss of rugged Mt. Chomchal. The name is also fitting for the painter, Sochi, who once wrote "A Poem for Mist and Flower." At the atlier, Sochi raised and educated his son Misan Heo Hyong, who also painted there. This studio is also the place where the famous painter Woeche Heo Bek-ryeon learned painting from Misan. Historic Ullimsanbang (Atelier) is further a base of Korean Nanga which produced Nanga painters for four generations, including Sochi, Misan, Namnong and Imchon.

	Number : Local Monument No. 51
	Location : Sachon-ri, uisin-myeon, Jindo-gun
	Area : The entire premises
	Period : Joseon Dynasty
	Date of Designation : October 20, 1981

☞ Many tourists visit the Ullimsanbang (Atelier), which is joined with Ssanggyesa Temple, and its evergreen forest. There is a Monument for the song "Jindo Arirang", built on August 15, 1995, 150m above Ullimsanbang (Atelier).

Talented in painting since childhood, Sochi started painting under the direction of Chowoe (Green Clothes) of the Duryun Sanbang (Daeheung Temple, now in Haenam), studying the works of the painter Gongje Yun Doo-seo. Later, at the age of 33, he learned painting and writing under the direction of Kim Jeong-hee, who he met through an introduction from the priest Choui. Though born on a distant island, Sochi excelled in composing, writing and painting through both natural talent and his own continuous endeavors.

He was chosen to draw in front of King Honjong, using the king's own inkstone, at Nakson Pass on July, 1847, when he was 40. Soon he became accustomed to composing, writing and painting with aristocrats

such as Lee Ha-ung (the father of King Gojong), Gwon Dong-ik, Min Yeong-ik, and Jeong Hak-yon. When his master Kim Jeong-hee died in 1856, Sochi returned home and spent the rest of his life at the house and the atlier located under Mt. Chomchal, south of the Ssangkye Temple. At the center of a pond, 35m in diameter, in front of Ullimsanbang (Atelier), there is a round artificial island, made with natural stones, and a crape myrtle planted by Sochi himself. Min Yeong-ik called Sochi "the God of Ink," for his excellence in writing and painting. Jeong Mun-jo named him "a man of three talents," for his writing, painting and composing abilities. Kim Jeong-hee called him "Sochi (Small Fool)," because Kim thought he was comparable to Hwang Gyong-mang, one of the four great painters of the Y an Dynasty of China, who was called "Daechi (Big Fool)."