Jeoksansanseong/Anguksa
Yesterday was a successful day...third time lucky afterall. The girls (Eun-Jung and Buk-Shil) picked me up at 9.50, and we stopped at the local supermarket to pick up some supplies (chocolate, milk, water, crisps, bread/cakes, pot noodle thingy, satsumas- you name we bought it). It took us 6 hours to drive there, as we went the slower way by accident, but I got to learn some new Korean vocabluary (mostly swear words) and take some pictures of the scenery on the way. Despite the onset of a cold, I was having fantastic day, with good company to keep my cheerful.
When we got to Muju and the local vacinity, we got lost. Buk-shil drove in completely the wrong direction for a good hour before she realised that we had gone the wrong way (yes, the girls were in possession of map). It is here that I took the best photographs from the back of the car, see below:
The first 3 I have posted as small because as per, they have turned out too dark, so there is very little to see. Most of the trees have now lost their leaves, while the evergreen trees brighten the mountains against the overcast sky.
After 10 min of driving up a steep road we finally made it to the fortress (and to think I was going to walk it???). Buk-shil was so exhausted after all that driving that she slept in the car while Eun-Jung and I visited the temple (Anguksa) and the fortress Jeoksansanseong. Needless to say, I was very disappointed to find that the fortress was nothing more than a long, 1M high wall that ran the perimeter of the mountain. Nonetheless, the view from the wall was breath-taking; I dont think I have ever been so high. In the distance I could see the tallest mountain I have ever seen; the peak was covered with snow, which unfortunately I could not capture on camera. Instead I have photos of a much smaller mountain that faced the fortress, with a town nestled at the bottom of it in the valley:
Situated within the fortress wall, was Anguksa, which swiftly bacame the main attraction. To be fair, it looked just like any other buddhist temple, but I could not help but remark to Eun-Jung that I could see why the Buddhist monks would choose I place like this to have their temple. The view is magnificent, and its so peaceful and secluded, without the busy humdrum of society to disturb you from following your path to enlightenment.
A potted History of Anguksa
Anguksa is the only temple inside Jeonsansanseong Fortress. Because of Amita Bodhisattva of paradise, Daseji Bodhisattva and the Goddess of Mercy is also enshrined here.
The building is characterised by many decorations on the column and a gable roof style. It has 3 compartments, each in the front and the side. Legend has it that a crane painted the building and flew away.
The temple was first built by the monk Wolin in King Chung Ryeol 3rd of the Goryeo dynasty (1277). Additons were made by the monk Mohak, and subsequently repaired 1613 and 1864. Jeosang mountain Sago (store house for history records) was set up within the fortress in 1614. It became a holy place to protect their country government troops and monk soldiers, It was this that gave Anguksa its name.
This the steps leading up to the gate of the temple.
Myself and Eun-Jung at the top of the steps leading to the temple.
To the left of the gate was a room housing one of the Monk's collection of old pottery and statues of gods from various religions. Outside sat a couple of Buddha statues, the one of the right was particularly amusing.
Inside the Pottery room sat a large statue of Buddha as the centre piece (of course). I could not work out what it was made of...bronze perhaps???
Due to limited storage capacity of my camera (yet to buy a memory card)a chose my favourite statue, and took a photo. This is a statue of a Tibetan God, though I really do not know which one.
The room was full of pottery from Japan and China as well as Korea. Seeing as I am in Korea, I thought it fitting to photograph the Korean pottery collection. This bowl set and mask dates back to the 13th century; I was amazed at how it managed to remain in such good condition.
To the right of the gate was the bell tower (which I forgot to take a photo of). On the floor by the bell tower was a pile of slate roofing. For W10,000 you can write your prayer or wish on one of the tiles, and once the slates have been placed on the roof, the monks prayers will influence your wish to come true (see to the right of the photo above). Diagonally to the right of the gate was another building I did not inspect...probably another prayer room.
Directly opposite the gate was the main prayer room, filled with gold plated statues of buddha. Just by the steps leading up to the prayer room, was a rusty traditonal rice pot, see below:
The views from the temple was magnificent, shame my camera does not capture the full grandeur of what lay before me. Here are a few photos:
Lastly, we 3 girls drove to a viewing tower 5 min from the fortress. After supressing a panic attack, I mangaged to get to the top. From there I could get a better view of the snow-capped mountain that I mentioned earlier, and it was from there I could fully appreciate how high it was. Again, I attempted to photograph it, but the image did not come out. Instead, I walked round to the other side of the viewing tower:
One the way back, exhausted by my cold, I fell asleep in the car. We stopped in JunJu
for dinner at Outback (memories of James devouring his dinner, my dinner and half of Jen's came flooding back).Despite the rather delicious western food, I had lost my appetite, and opted for a doggie bag instead.
The girls dropped me off at my apartment at around 9.30. Feeling like hell, I staggered into bed and settled down to watch TV. After a long telephone conversation with Ben, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
When we got to Muju and the local vacinity, we got lost. Buk-shil drove in completely the wrong direction for a good hour before she realised that we had gone the wrong way (yes, the girls were in possession of map). It is here that I took the best photographs from the back of the car, see below:
The first 3 I have posted as small because as per, they have turned out too dark, so there is very little to see. Most of the trees have now lost their leaves, while the evergreen trees brighten the mountains against the overcast sky.
After 10 min of driving up a steep road we finally made it to the fortress (and to think I was going to walk it???). Buk-shil was so exhausted after all that driving that she slept in the car while Eun-Jung and I visited the temple (Anguksa) and the fortress Jeoksansanseong. Needless to say, I was very disappointed to find that the fortress was nothing more than a long, 1M high wall that ran the perimeter of the mountain. Nonetheless, the view from the wall was breath-taking; I dont think I have ever been so high. In the distance I could see the tallest mountain I have ever seen; the peak was covered with snow, which unfortunately I could not capture on camera. Instead I have photos of a much smaller mountain that faced the fortress, with a town nestled at the bottom of it in the valley:
Situated within the fortress wall, was Anguksa, which swiftly bacame the main attraction. To be fair, it looked just like any other buddhist temple, but I could not help but remark to Eun-Jung that I could see why the Buddhist monks would choose I place like this to have their temple. The view is magnificent, and its so peaceful and secluded, without the busy humdrum of society to disturb you from following your path to enlightenment.
A potted History of Anguksa
Anguksa is the only temple inside Jeonsansanseong Fortress. Because of Amita Bodhisattva of paradise, Daseji Bodhisattva and the Goddess of Mercy is also enshrined here.
The building is characterised by many decorations on the column and a gable roof style. It has 3 compartments, each in the front and the side. Legend has it that a crane painted the building and flew away.
The temple was first built by the monk Wolin in King Chung Ryeol 3rd of the Goryeo dynasty (1277). Additons were made by the monk Mohak, and subsequently repaired 1613 and 1864. Jeosang mountain Sago (store house for history records) was set up within the fortress in 1614. It became a holy place to protect their country government troops and monk soldiers, It was this that gave Anguksa its name.
This the steps leading up to the gate of the temple.
Myself and Eun-Jung at the top of the steps leading to the temple.
To the left of the gate was a room housing one of the Monk's collection of old pottery and statues of gods from various religions. Outside sat a couple of Buddha statues, the one of the right was particularly amusing.
Inside the Pottery room sat a large statue of Buddha as the centre piece (of course). I could not work out what it was made of...bronze perhaps???
Due to limited storage capacity of my camera (yet to buy a memory card)a chose my favourite statue, and took a photo. This is a statue of a Tibetan God, though I really do not know which one.
The room was full of pottery from Japan and China as well as Korea. Seeing as I am in Korea, I thought it fitting to photograph the Korean pottery collection. This bowl set and mask dates back to the 13th century; I was amazed at how it managed to remain in such good condition.
To the right of the gate was the bell tower (which I forgot to take a photo of). On the floor by the bell tower was a pile of slate roofing. For W10,000 you can write your prayer or wish on one of the tiles, and once the slates have been placed on the roof, the monks prayers will influence your wish to come true (see to the right of the photo above). Diagonally to the right of the gate was another building I did not inspect...probably another prayer room.
Directly opposite the gate was the main prayer room, filled with gold plated statues of buddha. Just by the steps leading up to the prayer room, was a rusty traditonal rice pot, see below:
The views from the temple was magnificent, shame my camera does not capture the full grandeur of what lay before me. Here are a few photos:
Lastly, we 3 girls drove to a viewing tower 5 min from the fortress. After supressing a panic attack, I mangaged to get to the top. From there I could get a better view of the snow-capped mountain that I mentioned earlier, and it was from there I could fully appreciate how high it was. Again, I attempted to photograph it, but the image did not come out. Instead, I walked round to the other side of the viewing tower:
One the way back, exhausted by my cold, I fell asleep in the car. We stopped in JunJu
for dinner at Outback (memories of James devouring his dinner, my dinner and half of Jen's came flooding back).Despite the rather delicious western food, I had lost my appetite, and opted for a doggie bag instead.
The girls dropped me off at my apartment at around 9.30. Feeling like hell, I staggered into bed and settled down to watch TV. After a long telephone conversation with Ben, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
posted by Louise | 3:29 pm
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