Bulguksa temple is classified by the Korean Government as “historic and scenic site no 1” which in many ways means that if you visit only one site in Korea it should be this one. It is also an UNESCO World Heritage site and contains a number of Korean National Treasures. Unfortunately it isn’t close to Seoul so most foreign tourists never get to see it.

We finally made it on our third trip to Korea as a long day trip from Seoul. We took the KTX to Gyeongju and then our friend Ken rented a car for the day. It is possible to get a bus from the train station, or if there’s a group of you, rent a taxi for the day.

We got up super early and watched the sun rise while en route. We have also learned to pick up breakfast at the train station and then eat on the train. Most of the regular passengers around us were also eating their breakfasts. This made us feel part of ‘the group’ as we were all eating at the same time.

We got to Bulguksa quite early and had a little look around before entering and finding our English speaking guide. As you can see from the map the temple complex is quite large and I do recommend a guide as there are very few informational signs once at the temple.

It is a bit of a walk from this entrance up the mountain to the temple, but it is paved and mostly a gentle incline.

We checked in to let our guide know we were there and then took a look around the immediate area. No matter how we tried no photograph could truly capture how beautiful this area was.

Originally the temple was built in 528 CE. It was renamed and rebuilt in 751-774 during the Silla period to more like what you see today. It has had a turbulent history and was even set on fire during the Japanese 16th century invasions. It has been renovated, repaired and restored many times, but always using the same techniques and materials, so it is still very much what it originally looked like. There are still some buildings that were destroyed in the Korean War that have not been rebuilt.

The entrance area showcases four ‘bridges’ and two gates. The area where we were walking around was originally a pond and water flowed under these steps. The ‘bridges’ are actually the steps you see in the above photos. Cheongungyo (Blue Cloud Bridge) and Baegungyo (White Cloud Bridge) lead up to Jahamun Gate (Golden Purple Gate). All three were built around 750 CE and so are well over a thousand years old. People are no longer allowed to walk up them.

Ken encouraged us to drink the mountain spring water as we had a bit of a walk ahead of us. If you don’t don’t want to drink the water be sure to take some bottled water with you.

Our guide was ready and soon we headed around the side and into one of the large courtyards.  Our guide was a practicing Buddhist and was an encyclopedia of interesting information. She really wanted to make sure we understood the basic concepts of Buddhism as well as the history of the temple. She was amazing, at no time did I feel she was trying to convert anyone, she just wanted to us inform us. She told fun and engaging stories and happily answered even our most off the wall questions. Even our Korean friend said he’d learned a lot.

The first thing you notice is the Dabatop Pagoda, built around 750 CE, and National Treasure no. 20. It is also the image on the 10 won coin.

The pagoda once had four lions standing guard, one is now in a British Museum and no one knows what happened to the other two, but this beat up ugly guy has doing his best for well over a thousand years.

There is a second pagoda in the courtyard built at around the same time but in a different style. It is the Seokgatap pagoda and is National Treasure no. 21.

The courtyard was full of beautiful and interesting things, while the buildings were carved and painted in a spectacular fashion.

We arrived in time to see a monk give this Buddha his breakfast. Bulguksa is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and is still a working temple.

One of the loveliest temples to stroll around we kept coming across so many amazing and photogenic spots. Our guide was extremely patient with us as we kept exclaiming about the temple’s beauty.

One of the courtyards holds a lucky pig statue which we all had to rub for good luck.

Spread out over the mountainside with many courtyards on different levels it was easy to come across hidden areas.

Up towards the top of the temple complex we found an area where stones are stacked upon each other.

This is a way of asking for good wishes, or luck. Elizabeth and I have stacked stones at many temples, mostly as a form of thanks that our wishes to travel have been granted. (Do not knock down someone else’s stack to make your own, that would be unlucky.)

Just past here in the next courtyard was the Sarira Stupa, basically a reliquary, a place to house the remains of honored priests or royalty.

Wherever we walked there was more to see and admire.

At many tourists sites young Koreans have spoken with Elizabeth and wanted ‘selfies’, or ‘selcas’ (self-cameras). Here was no different.

Bulguksa is a wonderful place to visit and is very popular with Korean tourists and tour companies. The crowds tend to appear in the peak Spring and Fall seasons when the mountainside is particularly colorful. Getting there early in the day is the best plan.

Bulguksa Temple was only our first stop on a very full day in Gyeongju, so please keep an eye out for future posts.

Have a great day everyone, and be sure to visit Bulguksa Temple on your next visit to Korea.

You may also enjoy Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, (near Busan),  Bongeunsa Temple:Seoul,  and Juldarigi: An Extreme Form Of Korean Tug Of War.

Note. When you get an english speaking guide often the group is many up of many nationalities as English is the default language for those not speaking Korean. (Or Chinese, or Japanese, the other two languages along with English that most tourist spots have tours in.)

Note. There is an area of restaurants and shops further down the mountain. Toilets are located near the parking lots, with one toilet block at the temple.

Note. At some tourist spots in Seoul it is actually part of the local school’s field trip requirements to get a photograph with a foreigner.

Please do not copy or use without permission and accreditation. All photo credits to Elizabeth Marzec.

A short train trip from Seoul to Suwon takes you to a couple of interesting places. The Folk Village and Hwaseong Fortress are the main reasons to visit, but there’s also a palace, traditional markets, and good food. The area is known for ‘galbi.’  Late afternoon found us at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hwaseong Fortress. Spread out around the original city the fortress wall is about 3.5 miles in length. It is not very old, just over a couple of hundred years, but it has survived through wars and occupation.

In places it has been repaired, or restored, using the original techniques and materials, so that it is almost complete. It looks new in places, but time will age it all together nicely. Still a few smaller buildings that were lost to floods, or wars, haven’t been reconstructed. It is an amazing place to explore and visit, and we hope to visit it again on a day with more time, and sunshine. It really gives you an idea of the scale of buildings of the past, and the amount of land covered by a fortress. It is huge.

Having spent the most part of the day at the Folk Village we only had time to stroll and explore part of that length. We took a taxi from the train station to the northern tip of the fortress which was quite busy with tourist buses. Fortunately they were all leaving as we arrived. If you see the ‘balloon’ in the photo, that is a ride that goes up to allow a good view, especially at night and it was our plan to ride it. But as you can see it was a cloudy, hazy day so we decided not to.

We started our exploration at the East Gate, technically called Changrongmun, but more usually called Dongmun. It is located to the far right of the map, near the little man and the garden outside the wall on the map.

There is an area up near the northern gate where you can try out your archery skills, although we didn’t feel up to the task. There’s also a cafe and snack area near the parking area if you need a quick bite.

We headed around the wall heading towards the north gate. This building is called Dongbuk Gongsimdon and it is the N.E. Observation Tower. It is kind of a weird oval shape and quite imposing.

It was cool to be able to stand in some of the buildings and gaze out over the city below. In fact there were cool views all the way along the wall even on such a overcast afternoon.

The were outposts, pavilions and other buildings scattered all along the wall. The wall walk is very popular with local walkers and joggers as well as tourists so sometimes it is better to be there at odd times.

One of the nicest areas we found was around Dongbuk Gangnu Tower. After a while the tower became known more for being a place to hold feasts than for its original military purpose, and it was easy to see why.

Below the tower lies Yongyeon Pond, now a public park, which was once pleasure pond for the nobility.

The views from the pavilion were quite beautiful.

To get to the pond from the wall you have to find the Bukammun North Secret Gate, which actually is quite easy to find nowadays.

The other widows also have striking views, this angle shows the river that runs through the center of the fortress.

You can walk along the wall and cross the river that way, but since we had already gone down to the pond level we followed a narrow path to see where it would lead.

It led us towards the north floodgates, or Hwahonhmun. This is what you would cross if you stayed up on the wall.

We went down some steep steps, following the flowing water until we came to the stepping stones across the river. The photo below is looking back the way we came.

This is so us, leaving the ‘tourist’ trail to poke about, but we have so much fun that way.

We continued on to the North Gate, Janganmun, along the outside of the wall so we could truly appreciate the size, height and shear bulk of the massive walls. We probably walked less than a mile, and obviously didn’t see everything, so I’d suggest either Hwaseong Fortress or the Folk Village, or you spend 2 days in Suwon. That’s probably what we’ll do next visit.

It had been a long day so we hailed a cab back to the station and then made our way back to Seoul and our home away from home, The Seoul House.

Have a great day everyone.

You may also enjoy Hwacha: A Korean ‘Rocket Arrow’ Launcher,  Jeong-Dong Culture Night,   and Beolcho: A Korean Tradition Of Maintaining Ancestral Grave Mounds.

Please do not copy or use without permission and accreditation.

All photo credits to original owners, map to tourist site on web, rest to Debora & Elizabeth Marzec.