Jusanji Pond

Jusanji was dug in the early eighteenth century as an irrigation reservoir for the fields below and it has never dried out since, which is the local boast. It is small - a couple of hundred metres long - and what makes it worth the detour is what stands in it: willows and other trees rooted in the shallows, some of them around a hundred and fifty years old, their trunks in the water and their reflections doubling them when the surface is still. On cold mornings mist gathers on the pond and the trees come and go in it. Kim Ki-duk filmed Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.. and Spring here, which brought it national attention. The window that matters is a couple of weeks from late October, when the surrounding slopes turn and the reflection carries the colour; outside that it is a quiet pond with dead-looking trees in it. Walking down to the water's edge is restricted to protect the banks.

What you actually see

• The submerged willows - old trunks standing in the water.
• The reflection - the trees doubled on a still surface.
• The dawn mist - fog sitting on the pond in cold weather.
• The autumn slopes - colour around the water in late October.

When to go

Late October to early November, at dawn - both conditions matter, and the window is short. Mist needs a cold still morning and does not appear on demand.

Honest expectations

It is small and can be seen in twenty minutes. Outside the autumn window and without mist it underwhelms. Access to the bank is restricted and photographers crowd the few viewpoints at dawn.

Nearby

Juwangsan national park is a short drive; Andong is an hour and a half west.