For nearly 500 years, the capital of Korea's Goryeo dynasty stood at Gaeseong, a city about 50 kilometers northwest of modern-day Seoul. When General Yi-Songgye marched into Gaesong in 1388, he overthrew the tottering Goryeo dynasty and established a new regime that would soon be known as the Joseon dynasty. Although General Yi held his coronation in Gaesong in 1392, becoming King Taejo, he did not wish for Gaeseong to remain the capital. It was widely believed at the time that Gaeseong was no longer suitable as a capital because it had exhausted its share of the metaphysical energy of the land. According to the requirements of pungsu (Chinese: feng-shui), a new site for the capital would have to be found, preferably on a spot teeming with energy. At Taejo's behest, master geomancers (practitioners of pungsu) fanned out across the land, searching for the ideal spot to build a fitting capital city. One such site was discovered near modern-day Daejeon at the foot of Mt. Gye-ryeong. With Taejo's blessing, work began quickly on the site and soon foundation stones were readied in the ground. However, work abruptly ceased when Taejo became convinced that Hanyang (modern-day Seoul) would make a better site. Taejo was persuaded by the prophecies of Doseon, a 10th-century priest and master geomancer who aided the founder of the previous dynasty in the selection of a capital. Doseon had correctly prophesied the founding of Goryeo, and had made a prediction that the next dynasty ...