Pictures from Today

Heung Guk Sa

Bukhansan

Seo - O - Reung

Han River with Seoul Tower in the background, shot from Apgujeong.

Wondang



Buddha's Birthday

Latern Festival Parade

Narita with my Canon IXUS

I had a 6 hour layover at the Tokyo Narita Airport. I was able to visit the nearby town of Narita. These are the pictures I took with my Canon point and shoot camera.

Baegun Temple

I wanted to see some more of Uiwang, the county where I live, so I went to City Hall and picked up a map. It was Sunday, and it being Korea, some people were actually working in their offices and were happy to help me.









The area near city hall has some other public offices as well as the Uiwang library. All the building appeared to be only a few years old.

Here's a shot of the hallway on the first level of the library:





There are no public buses going to the base of Baegun Mountain on the side of the temple, so I took a taxi. From the parking lot where I was let out, it was a very short hike (15 minutes).

Cheonggyesa

I tell people I live in Anyang, but I actually live in Uiwang which is much less known. Cheonggye Mountain and this temple are two of the biggest tourist attractions in Uiwang. It's pretty sad that I've lived here over a year and only just gotten out to see these. There's also a famous catholic church nearby as well as Baegun Lake. I met a couple people selling snacks on the way up the hill and had a few drinks despite it being 1PM on a Tuesday. I got a chance to practice my broken Korean and support a couple of locals.



I believe I read that the temple was originally built in the 13 century because temples became banned with in the city.



Unfortunately my battery died after a few shots, so I promised myself I would return. It's really a beautiful area that is lush with vegetation still very green along the Cheonggye stream banks.



To get there you take the yellow #10 Mall bus from Indeogwon station to the lower parking area and then walk up the road about 15 minutes. Or if you're really lazy you could just take a taxi all the way up the access road to the temple. A lot of people did that and then went hiking to the top of the mountain from there. In addition, there are some little restaurants and vendors along the access road.

Bong Won Sa

Bongwonsa is near Yonsei University. You can get there by taking the 7024 bus from Sinchon Station. It is the head of the Taego order of Buddhist monks in South Korea. Taego monks are unique from most other Korean Buddhist monks (Chogye order) in that they can marry.




The symbol on the main temple is what is referred to as the "Dharma Wheel" or Dharmacakra (Sanskrit). It is one of the oldest known Buddhist symbols found in Indian art. The eight spokes represent the "Noble Eightfold Path" of Buddhism, one of the four "Noble Truths" (main teachings) of the Supreme Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama.





Interesting note: The remains of about a dozens bodies buried by the infamous Korean serial killer Yoo Young Chul were discovered on the temple grounds several years ago. Yoo is currently on death row awaiting the death penaly which has not been administered here since 1997.

Gwanak Mountain

The trail runs along a creek bed almost the entire hike up from the trailhead in Gwacheon.







This a shot looking up at the main temple building as you approach Gwanak Sa. There were hundreds of other hikers around the temple and peaks. The large antenna in the background appears to be attached to the building but is not. There are a number of large antennae and an observatory and weather station on the ridges near the peak.






I think this is the main temple. Underneath it is a building with a cafeteria that serves meals to pilgrims and visitors. I was hungry but didn't want to hike back down with a full stomach, so I ended up buying a red bean popsicle from a vendor at the peak. They also had ramen and rice wine available near the top.

I'm guessing that sign says "Gwanak Temple" in Chinese characters, but I have no idea.

This appears to be a smaller and older temple built on a rock cliff near the very top. I wanted to go inside and take some pictures, but it was packed with Buddhists praying.

You get a 360 degree view of Seoul from the top. This is a shot looking down at the Gangnam suburb.