History of Andong

 Toe-gye Yi Hwang (1501–70), one of the most prominent of all Korean scholars, came from Andong. Yi Hwang retired back to his homeland late in life and started the establishment of the great Confucian academy DosanSeowon there, which was finished after his death. During this period Andong and its principal families were influential within Korean political circles, of which the three notable families were the Andong Kim, Andong Jang and Andong Kwon clans.

After the 16th century Andong became less influential until the early 19th century, when a marriage of the local Kim family resulted in strong influence on the royal family.

Andong was the site of intense fighting during the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Battle of Andong. Although the city was almost destroyed, it was quickly rebuilt. In 1976 the Andong Dam was built, providing the city with a reliable source of electricity.

In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom celebrated her 73rd birthday in the city. There is an exhibit dedicated to this historic visit at Hahoe folk village museum .AndongSoju is made using traditional methods that are centuries old unlike its popular modern counterparts. It is protected by government regulation to preserve authenticity and commands a steep premium in the marketplace.

Andong has famous local foods that originated in the city such as heotjesabap, Andongjjimdak, Andongsoju (a rice wine), Andongsikhye (a punch), Geonjinguksu (a noodle dish), and salted mackerel.

Heotjesabap is a variety of bibimbap, served with soy sauce (ganjang) instead of the gochujang (hot pepper paste) that is more commonly used. Heotjesabab consists mainly of several