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 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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12 Feb 2009, Posted by Matt in Festivals & Holidays, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, Shopping, 4 Comments

Romantic Holidays and Destinations

A snapshot of a sidewalk “White Day” sale near Ewha Woman’s University (sic) from last year.

No, Valentine’s Day isn’t an indigenous creation, but Koreans have embraced the holiday fully.  And beyond being just a day for shops to sell anything pink or red, it’s also a special time to tell someone in your life, saranghae (사랑해), or “I love you.”

Actually, there are many quasi-official days for love in Korea. Youth and marketers have conspired to designate the 14th of almost every month a special day, with very specific rules to follow.

For example, although today is observed as Valentine’s Day in Korea, traditionally it’s when women give chocolate and gifts to their significant others. On March 14th, which is called “White Day,” the roles are reversed, and get this, some say that men are supposed to give gifts that are three times the value of what she gave you the previous month!

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03 Feb 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Festivals & Holidays, Food & Drink, Gangwon, Historic Korea, Transportation, 3 Comments

Mt. Taebaeksan Snow Festival

Colorful pinwheels add color to what was an otherwise very white snow festival.

The Taebaek Mountain Range stretches 500 kilometers along Korea’s east coast. This backbone of the Korean Peninsula features its namesake, Mount Taebaek, at the southern edge of Gangwon Province.

Rising 1,567 meters above sea level, Taebaeksan, which means “great white mountain,” is famous for its heavy snowfall. A portrait of Dangun Wanggeom (단군왕검), Korea’s legendary founder, is enshrined here.  And during the Silla Dynasty, kings performed annual sacrifices on Taebaeksan. In fact, Korean shamanists consider Taebaek Mountain to be one of the nation’s three holiest peaks.

But as I mentioned previously, this “great white mountain” is famous for snow, which is why thousands of people come here annually for the Taebaek Snow Festival (태백산눈축제).

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