Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring in Cheongsong: 1 Spot (1 Confirmed)

The set is gone — read this first

The hermitage was a set, and it no longer exists. Korea JoongAng Daily confirms it was only a set and was removed shortly after the film wrapped. There is nothing to see of it today, and no replica.

We tell you this up front because it is the most common disappointment at Jusanji. Come for the pond, the willows and the light. Do not go hunting for a viewpoint, sign or replica marking where the set floated — there is none.

What was filmed here

The film follows a Buddhist monk from childhood to old age across five chapters, each set in a different season, all centered on a hermitage that floats on the water. A Yale University film note describes the hermitage as built for the film on the roughly 300-year-old Jusanji in Juwangsan National Park, with the shoot spread across a year.

Jusanji Pond (주산지) is the attraction. Maeil Shinmun describes a reservoir built more than 300 years ago that still supplies Cheongsong’s farmland. Its signature is the wangbeodeul, old willows standing with their roots in the water. In mist, their reflections are what draws photographers before dawn.

The viewing area at the water’s edge looks out across the willows toward the spot where the hermitage floated. There is a photo point near the entrance and a closer view of the old willows further in. Allow 1 hour for the pond, or half a day if you add a Juwangsan valley walk.

The willows are changing

Kyongbuk Maeil reported in 2025 that the pond’s old willows are in decline, and that the Juwangsan National Park office has started work to save them, including transplanting successor willows from a riverside colony elsewhere in Cheongsong. Expect to see younger trees among the old ones, and do not step off paths toward the waterline.

When to go

• Spring and autumn: the trees in leaf or in color, mirrored on still water. Atlas Obscura names these as the best seasons.
• Dawn, any season: mist on the water is the photograph Jusanji is famous for, and it is why photographers arrive before sunrise.
• Winter: Kyongbuk Maeil’s winter feature shows the willows in a bare, quiet landscape. Roads in Cheongsong can ice over; check conditions.
• Rainy days: Korea JoongAng Daily makes the case that Cheongsong is at its most atmospheric in rain.

Visiting well

• Stay on the paths. The willows’ roots sit in the water at the pond’s edge, and the park office is working to keep them alive.
• Dawn means company. The mist that made Jusanji famous also brings tripods; arrive early, keep to one spot, and leave space at the railing.
• No hermitage hunting. There is no viewpoint, sign or replica marking where the set floated. The view across the water is the whole of it.

Getting there

Cheongsong has no railway, so plan the trip by road.

• By car: from the Cheongsong IC on the Sangju–Yeongdeok Expressway, follow signs for Juwangsan National Park and Jusanji; Maeil Shinmun puts the drive at about 25–30 minutes. There is a large car park at the entrance, and you walk from there to the pond.
• By public transport: intercity buses run to Cheongsong; from there you need a local bus or taxi to Jusanji. We do not publish bus numbers without an official, dated timetable. Check Kakao Map or Naver Map for the current route, and confirm return times before you go, as services are infrequent.

Pair it with

• Juwangsan National Park. The main valley, with its cliffs and waterfalls, is the “outer” half of a Juwangsan day; Jusanji is the quieter inner pond.
• Cheongsong’s geopark sites. Kyongbuk Maeil’s 2025 feature lists the Sinseong valley and Baekseoktan within the UNESCO Global Geopark, plus the ice valley.
• Other stories in Cheongsong. Our The Scandal and Our Sticky Love guides include places in the county.

Places we couldn’t verify

• Other filming spots for the film’s land scenes. We found no source naming further locations outside the pond.
• Park rules on dawn access and drones. Not confirmed with the Korea National Park Service for this guide; check the park’s notice before an early or drone-assisted shoot.

How we checked

A spot is confirmed when two independent sources name it as a filming location; it is reported when only one source names it so far. Jusanji Pond is confirmed: Korea JoongAng Daily and Yale’s film note both tie the film to the pond, with Maeil Shinmun and Kyongbuk Maeil also naming it. The floating hermitage was a set and is not listed as a stop: it was removed after filming, and no replica exists. Private homes are left out.

Photos: The hero image and the stop photo are a checked CC BY-SA 3.0 photograph of the real pond, credited on the card. No film stills are used anywhere in this guide.

Sources

All sources for this guide

Checked Nov 5, 2026 (Asia/Seoul) unless noted.

1. Korea JoongAng Daily — Cheongsong’s ancient pleasures make ethereal magic on rainy days (Dec 14, 2006)
2. Maeil Shinmun — 뜨는 힐링 명소, 저수지 한바퀴: 대한민국의 선물, 청송 주산지 (Feb 16, 2022)
3. Kyongbuk Maeil — 겨울이 다시 우리 곁에 왔다… (Nov 25, 2021)
4. Kyongbuk Maeil — 영화 ‘봄, 여름, 가을, 겨울…그리고 봄’ 촬영지 주산지, willow restoration (Sep 4, 2025)
5. Kyongbuk Maeil — 청송은 그저 아름다운 여행지가 아닌… (Sep 30, 2025)
6. Yale University Library — Film Notes: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring
7. Wikipedia — Cheongsong County (set-removal background only; the removal reason is not asserted in this guide)
8. Atlas Obscura — Jusanji Pond