Browsing the archives for the sights to see tag

Special Events for Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일): Friday, May 21st

Coming up in about a week and a half is my absolute favorite holiday in Korea: Seokga Tanshinil (석가탄신일), or Buddha’s Birthday.   Every temple in Korea celebrates Buddha’s Birthday one way or another.  Most hang lanterns, have special ceremonies and serve a special group lunch or dinner for parishioners.  A few of the larger or [...]

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Top 10 Ancient Stone Buddhas (석불) of Gyeongju: Part 2 of 2

Continued from Part 1:
5.  The Buddha Boulder (부처바위) of Tapgol Valley (탑골): Tucked behind the quaint beauty of Oknyeongam Hermitage (옥룡암) in Tapgol (pagoda) Valley is a large rock outcropping covered with Buddhist carvings.  There are dozens of cryptic images including meditating Buddhas, flying Devas, pagodas, and even winged lions!  The quiet magic of [...]

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Top 10 Ancient Stone Buddhas (석불) of Gyeongju: Part 1 of 2

One of the cool things about Gyeongu is that it’s literally covered with ancient stone Buddhas from the Unified Shilla Dynasty (통일 신라), most dating back to around the 7th or 8th centuries C.E.  Very little is generally known about the sculptors who chiseled out these masterpieces way back when, though they were probably carved [...]

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Gyeongju Cherry Blossoms (벚꽃) Spring 2010

Over the last week or so the cherry blossoms (벚꽃) here in Gyeongju have just exploded.  Hopefully,you got out to see them last weekend as we’ve been in for a bit of nasty weather lately.  The temperature’s really dropped and we even had some snow mixed in with the rain tonight, which is not going to [...]

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My Gyeongju Top 10

I know it’s all the trend these days, but I figured it was about time I sat down and wrote out my personal top ten “to do” list for Gyeongju.  Some of these I’ve posted on already, and if I haven’t yet, I hope to soon. So here they are in brief; counting down from 10 [...]

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The Four-sided Buddha of Gulbulsa Temple (굴불사)

Just a few blocks down from City Hall in Dongcheon-dong is one of the lesser known historical gems in Gyeongju, the four-sided Buddha of  Gulbulsa Temple (굴불사).  The original Shilla era structures of Gulbulsa are long gone, but remaining is a striking four-sided Buddha, or samyeonseokbul (사면석불), chiseled out of a large boulder.  In fact, [...]

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Ichadon (이차돈) Continued

My wife and I went out for a short hike yesterday on Mt. Geumgansan (금강산) to get some exercise and enjoy a bit of the Spring weather.  As I’d just posted on the legend of of Ichadon (이차돈), I figured we’d take walk up to Baegyulsa Temple (배귤사), which was built on the spot where [...]

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Shilla Legend: The Martyrdom of Ichadon (이차돈)

If you visit enough Buddhist temples here in Korea, you might come across some pretty gnarly scenes painted on the sides of these hollowed halls, such as the gothic  tortures of the Hell Realms or the gruesome image of the 2nd Patriarch of Zen, or Seon (선) Buddhism, chopping off his left arm (but more [...]

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Cherry Blossom (벚꽃) Season in Gyeongju

Since I’ve been on the topic of festivals lately, I thought I’d post on this one BEFORE it happened for a change.  It’s not an official festival really, but with Spring looming on the horizon, we’re just a couple of weeks away from cherry blossom season.  Gyeongju, along with Jinhae further south, is one of [...]

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Anapji Pond (안압지) by Night

Probably my top pick of things to do when visiting Gyeongju is to go for a walk around Anapji Pond (안압지) at night. Sure, Anapji’s worth checking out during the day, but when the sun goes down it really blings. The city’s done a great job with lighting, though some might say its a bit [...]

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