Sudeoksa, Buddha's Birthday

Sudeoksa, Yesan, South Korea. April 30th and May 1st, 2013. 

It was midterm time at Buseok High School, so I decided to spend one of my off days roaming Sudeoksa, which turned into two days once I stood under these:

부처님 오신날 means "the day when Buddha came"

As I entered the temple complex, there was a single string of these lanterns on each side of the main path, but when I looked up the steps to the main temple, I realized what I was getting myself into.

I knew it was Buddha's birthday, but I had no idea that I was going to see all of this color. When people visit temples like this, they can write short prayers or wishes on tags, and these tags are then attached to the bottoms of lanterns, and the lanterns are hung around the temple. So I stood there, color above and shadow below, listened to the constant tapping, tapping, tapping of these tags when the wind blew, and it was awesome.

The lanterns hanging outside my favorite, smaller temple nearby.

Pagoda and lanterns (left). Jumping me and lanterns (right, photo courtesy of my girlfriend).

This is my last Sudeoksa post until I visit again, which will hopefully be soon.

Sudeoksa, Winter

Sudeoksa Temple, Yesan, South Korea. 

Sudeoksa Temple

The third time I came here was February 23, 2013, and it was with my girlfriend, her father and stepmother, and her host family. We visited one of her host family's friends, a monk living at Sudeoksa, and then explored the grounds on a cold, clear day. I didn't take many pictures, so I've thrown in another photo from my September visit. Enjoy!

I had just come through this door and liked the colors, broom, etc. This monk decided to walk through the door right as I was lining up the shot!  

A smaller temple, to the left of the central path in the complex.

Exploring Seoul, take II

September 7, 2013. Seoul, South Korea.

This is a continuation of my previous post, where I discovered the industrial side of the Mullae neighborhood in Seoul. That adventure took up a few of my morning hours. These photos are from the places I visited before and after.

A bridge and underpass near Seoul Station (left). Art and artist, relaxing in Hongdae (right).

My day began with a train. Kaley and I arrived in Seoul Station around 7:30 a.m. and decided to walk around a bit before parting ways. My evening began after she finished her run. I met up with her and a few other Fulbrighters in Hongdae for some awesome mexican food.

Soju and beer. Yep.

In between Seoul Station and Hongdae, I hopped on the subway to Mullae, walked through some side streets and eventually stumbled onto a market. The stalls (mostly vegetables, fruit, and ajummas) stretched down several blocks on one side of a street.

The old Korean ladies use kittens to lure in...everyone.

Colors and Whatnot

After I walked along the market street, I wound my way through the streets and alleys where I took the photos in my previous post. Then I got back on the subway and headed towards Chungmuro Station and the Namsangol Hanok Village. It was your standard bright, sunny, warmish day in a huge park. There was some kind of festival or cheerleading competition going on, filling up the spaces between the traditional Korean homes. Heading towards the back of the park, Namsan Tower eventually found its way out behind the trees and I found the grave of the time capsule commemorating Seoul's 600th anniversary. The stone dais marking it's location (below) has messages from some of Seoul's sister cities - like San Francisco and Honolulu - engraved on it.

Namsangol Hanok Village, which houses the time capsule commemorating 600th anniversary (left).
Once I learned how to read Hangeul (Korean characters), I learned "no smoking area" really quickly. Those signs (right) are all over the place.

Exploring Seoul

September 7, 2013. Mullae, Seoul, South Korea.

I woke up around 5 or 6 (I don't remember exactly, but it was way too early) to get to Seoul on the Saturday of the Color Me Rad run in Incheon. As you can see from the first image, I didn't run in that particular event. While my girlfriend ran, I explored Seoul a bit and found this:

 

I still get really nervous taking these photos. I basically walked past this guy, metered and focused my camera, then walked back and snapped it while he wasn't looking.

This is the Mullae neighborhood in Seoul. I was trying to find the Mullae Art Village that I saw here: http://magazine.seoulselection.com/2013/07/22/mullae-art-village/. Me and my camera couldn't get past the colors and shapes of this industrial area to find the art village, and I'm okay with that. Not much to tell here. I spent a few hours walking around, and the photos can speak for themselves. 

Beopjusa in Fall

October 27, 2013. Beopjusa, Boeun, Korea.

Beopjusa's huge standing Buddha.

After hiking Songnisan (previous post), I visited this temple, called Beopjusa (법주사), which is a 10-minute walk past the Songnisan park entrance. I arrived just after sunset and didn't have a lot of time since the park was closing soon, so I decided to head back for sunrise the next morning. I woke up at 6am, arrived at the temple around 6:30, 15 minutes or so before sunrise, and stayed for about an hour and a half, taking photos and watching the sun slowly light its way through the temple complex.

First view through the main gate (left). They are renovating a colossal pagoda-style building behind this one.
The customary water basin (right). These two photos were taken just after sunset.

A dash of color.

There are more monks than visitors this early in the morning.

I love these colors.

The main temple building.

Songnisan in Fall

October 26, 2013. Songnisan National Park, Korea.

Iljumun (일주문), the entrance gate to Beopjusa and the hiking trails leading to Songnisan's peaks

This past weekend, I decided to go hiking and check out the fall colors in Korea. My mountain of choice was Songnisan, which I've been to once before. I started hiking around noon on Saturday, reached Munjangdae Peak around 2:30, and left Songnisan National Park a little after sunset. The hike itself only took around 4 and a half or five hours, but I took my time taking photos, hung out on the peak eating and reading, and spent a while roaming Beopjusa Temple after I descended (photos from the temple will be my next post).



Fall colors on the way to Munjangdae

At 1054 meters (around 3,458 feet), Munjangdae is actually the second-highest peak, but it's only three meters short of tying the highest peak and has a ridiculous view. It was a little hazy as it hasn't rained in a while, but totally worth the time and sore legs.

After yet another set of stairs, you arrive where all of the people are in this photo. From there, it's a short walk/climb to the peak.

You have a 360 degree view from Munjangdae Peak.

Buses from the Cheongju bus terminal take about and hour and 45 minutes to get to the Songnisan Terminal, and it costs ₩8,600. Getting into the park costs 4,000 won (around 4 dollars) and it's open from around 5am to sunset. This is a pretty popular area, so the best time to go would be a weekday.