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.

03 Feb 2010, Posted by Matt in Historic Korea, Jeolla, 6 Comments

Nagan Fortress Folk Village

War, colonization and rapid industrialization have decimated Korea’s architectural heritage, and yet an astonishing amount of it still remains, especially outside the big cities. And thankfully, local and federal governments are making increasing efforts to preserve what’s left of old Korea, especially the numerous “folk villages” that dot the countryside. Among my favorites is Nagan Folk Village (낙안읍성민속마을), located in South Jeolla Province.

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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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15 Aug 2009, Posted by Matt in Gyeonggi, Historic Korea, 3 Comments

Independence Series: Independence Hall of Korea

August 15th is Gwangbokjeol (광복절) or Korean Independence Day, which celebrates the defeat of the Japanese during WWII and Korea’s liberation after 35 years of oppressive colonial rule.

In honor of the day, let’s head to Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province to visit the Independence Hall of Korea. The extensive complex was opened to the public in 1982, and serves to collect, preserve and display a wealth of data about the Korean civilization, with a special focus on the nation’s early 20th century independence movement against Japan.

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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.

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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17 Oct 2008, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Historic Korea, Jeolla, Nature, 7 Comments

Gimje’s Gold Mountain Temple

Geumsansa Temple’s (금산사) main courtyard features the impressive 3-story high Maitreya Hall, Goryeo-era stone sculptures, and gorgeous trees.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had never visited North Jeolla Province. So when a friend of mine invited me to come along with her on a weekend trip, I jumped at the chance. North Jeolla-do has long been Korea’s rice bowl, and its terraced rice paddies and natural areas are famed for their beauty. During my travels there, one of my favorite places was Geumsansa, or Gold Mountain Temple, which is located between the cities of Jeonju and Gimje (김제).

Geumsansa Temple is located on the slopes of Moak Mountain. Founded over 14 centuries years ago during the first year of King Beop (법왕) of the Baekje Kingdom, the temple is best known for its Maitreya Hall, which houses the massive Mireuksa Buddha, and is Korea’s only remaining 3-story pre-modern building. The gorgeous structure features dozens of colorful paintings. And each corner of its three roofs requires a supporting column, due to the weight of the ornate eaves.

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