29 May 2010, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Buddhist Temples, Festivals & Holidays, Seoul, 3 Comments

Seoul’s Lotus Lantern Festival

The Lotus Lantern Festival began centuries ago. Today, the tradition of making and hanging lanterns as symbolic offerings of light and compassion in a world too often filled with darkness and suffering continues.

21 Apr 2010, Posted by Matt in Best of DK.com, Buddhist Temples, Historic Korea, Jeolla, Nature, 1 Comments

Saseongam: The Four Sages Hermitage

Saseongam is a small Buddhist temple set dramatically into a wall of exposed granite on a foothill of Korea’s sacred mountain, Jirisan.

19 Mar 2010, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Gyeonggi, Nature, Seoul, 0 Comments

Climbing Mt. Dobongsan

Let’s celebrate the waning weeks of winter with a snowy hiking trip up Mt. Dobongsan, the “Daoist Peak” located on Seoul’s northern border.

21 Oct 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Gyeonggi, Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, 6 Comments

Fall Color at Mt. Gwanaksan

Although I’m completely unqualified to do so, here’s a quick Korean language lesson.

The word “san” (산) in Korean more or less means mountain. That’s why every mountain in Korea has the “-san” suffix, e.g. Seoraksan, Bukhansan, Jirisan, etc. Trouble is, living here I’ve become familiar calling Korea’s peaks by their Korean names (fancy that!), so calling Jirisan “Mount Jiri” just doesn’t feel right. When translating to English, however, it’s unclear that it’s a mountain without the obligatory “Mt.” title. So what’s my awkward compromise? Mount (Mountain Name)-mountain… something tells me my opinion on this will change shortly.

Anyhow, given that autumn color has started here in Seoul, I wanted to put up some photos from a quick trip last year to, ahem, Mt. Gwanaksan (관악산), located in Southern Seoul.

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14 Sep 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Historic Korea, Jeolla, 7 Comments

Songgwang Temple

Deep in South Jeolla Province is one of Korean Buddhism’s three most important temples, Songgwangsa (송광사). The name, which translates as the “Extensive Pines Temple,” was originally founded as Kilsangsa about 1,200 years prior during the Silla Dynasty. As one of the nation’s “Buddhist jewels,” Songgwang Temple is one of the main training centers for Korea’s Jogye Son (zen) sect and has produced 16 national masters, including Master Chinul.

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11 Jun 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Festivals & Holidays, Seoul, UNESCO Sites, Video, 0 Comments

Bongwonsa Temple

In 889, Bongwonsa Temple was founded by the great master Doseon. The west Seoul temple is famous for its Yeongsanjae ceremony, an elaborate and beautiful performance that was recognized by UNESCO in 2009.

14 May 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Food & Drink, Gangwon, Nature, 8 Comments

Gangwon Province Road Trip: At the Beach

Last year, my friends Do-hoon and KBS World’s Abby Rhodes took three days to explore Korea’s Donghae, or East Sea. During our three-day exploration of Gangwon Province, , on day 1 we explored the mountains, and on day 2 we explored the sea.

Of course, Korea’s east coast is the first place to see the sun rise here, and many Koreans visit it to make a wish on special days like the lunar New Year. Although our special wish for no rain was already granted, we awoke at 4 am anyhow to see the sun rise at Naksansa Temple (낙산사).

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29 Apr 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Jeolla, Nature, 4 Comments

Climbing Mt. Wolchulsan

From Baekdusan Mountain on North Korea’s border with China to Mount Hallasan on Jeju island, Korea is home to thousands of magnificent peaks. But while some of the nation’s mountains are grand, good things can also come in small packages. Case in point is the country’s smallest national park, Wolchulsan Mountain National Park (월출산국립공원) in South Jeolla Province.

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21 Apr 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Festivals & Holidays, Food & Drink, Historic Korea, Seoul, 4 Comments

Seoul’s Lotus Lantern Festival 2009

The Lotus Lantern Festival (Photo courtesy of Festival organizers)

Can you tell it’s festival season in Korea?

Well, if this is news to you, starting on April 24, Korea’s Buddhist community will celebrate the birth of the Buddha with an extravagant, 11-day festival of light called the Lotus Lantern Festival (연등축제). Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which, this year falls on May 2nd.

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15 Apr 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Chungcheong, Historic Korea, 3 Comments

Chungcheong’s Beopjusa Temple

Last week I was traveling with a friend, and his parents asked me a tough question: Which one of Korea’s Buddhist temples is my favorite?

I pondered their question for a moment. Of course, I haven’t visited all of Korea’s some 100 temples, but from the good number I’ve seen so far, my favorite has to be Beopjusa (법주사), a fantastic temple complex located on the southwestern slopes of Songni Mountain (속리산) in North Chungcheong Province.

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