busan

Seokbulsa Temple

While searching for places to hike in Busan, I ended up with Seokbulsa Temple, so Sunday morning i put on my hiking boots and set out to find this Buddhist temple.

As for most things in Korea it is difficult to find any info on how to get to the different places so after trying to search online not finding much of what i was looking for I checked at the hotel lobby and got them to write the name of the temple down in Korean for me. It usually comes in handy when you need to ask people for direction and I was sure I would need to ask along the way.

Starting at Geumgang Park I took the cable car up the mountain and found my way to the Fortress South Gate. It was a cloudy day and still cold in the air but quite a lot of hikers out on the trails.

From the south gate I turned left and headed downhill passing through a mountain Village.

At this point i had to ask for the direction as there were different paths leading in different directions. The locals are friendly and always willing to help so they pointed out the direction and I continued downhill.

Entering the paved road I was not to sure what direction to go as the road was leading in both directions so I had to choose to go uphill or downhill. I choose to head uphill as I assumed the temple would be somewhere up in the mountain and along the way i meet some people that confirmed i was heading in the right direction and about 20 min later I reached the gate of the temple.

Carved into rock, Seokbulsa includes massive etched Buddhist images and is a truly powerful experience. It must be one of Korea’s best kept secrets.

While other temples such as Beomeosa that is over crowded with visitors this temple only had a few visitors at the time I was there. Seokbulsa literally means “Stone Buddha Temple”. From the front it looks like a typical Korean temple, but as soon as you head behind the front row of buildings, you will find one of the most majestic sights.

As you walk between the buildings, the sight before you is simple breathtaking as tall carvings tower over you in the u-shaped crevice in front of you. The carvings, which are several hundred years old, are impressive.

Climbing up the stairs between the mountains you get a stunning view overlooking Busan city.

I spent some time at the temple watching the few people visiting it and I really enjoyed the peace and quietness.

I decided to head back the same way as I came so I followed the paved road until I reached the same sign as when I entered the road and hiked up the side of Geumjeongsan back to the South Gate.

Passing the village again it started to be quite crowded with people stopping for lunch, some playing games and others just passing by like myself on the way up or down the mountain.

Back at the South Gate I stopped for a rest and some snack before I found my way back to the cable car.

It was well worth the hike finding the temple and I enjoyed my Sunday to the fullest.

I visited the temple in March 2016.

A stroll around the Jagalchi Fish Market

I was strolling the streets early on a Sunday morning on my way to Jagalchi fish market. It was December and the street was still very quiet and only a few stalls was open at this time. Others were getting ready to open and preparing for the day.

Some cleaning in front of the store and some laying out the fish ready to be sold. The closer i got to the fish market the more busy it was. I passed the stalls and headed in to the indoor wet fish market.

I walked inside the building but as it was still quiet i decided to head over to the outdoor wet market that is located just next to the indoor market.

Fish was unloaded from small and large fishing boats and the outdoor market got busy.

Passing this i was thinking why not try out the waffles like thing looking like fish? Well i decided to miss it this time and headed in the direction of the harbor as i could see lots of fishing boats had anchored up and was unloading fish to be sold at the marked and transported off to other places in the country to be sold.

The harbor was busy and people was shouting at all corners to make sure the fish got to the right trucks or sold off to the local marked.

All was very well organized and boxes got stored in different location or transported direct on the trucks for transportation.

The Jagalchi fish market is the largest fish market in Korea and you will find fresh fish that can be purchased for a good price. With the location beside Nampo port the fish can be delivered quickly and kept fresh.

The market is famous as many elderly woman run the fish stands and have done so since the men were off fighting in the Korean War. Meals are served to locals and tourist alike in the small restaurants they have set up behind the stalls were they are selling the fish.

A lot of restaurants come here to buy fish from wholesalers.

At the time I left the market it was getting really busy.

If you visit Busan make sure you visit the Jagalchi market. Try out some of the food stalls or just stroll around. Either way it is worth the visit.

Hiking Geumjeong-san

Autumn leaves was falling from the trees on this cloudy November day. With the shift of seasons the temperature had dropped and the temperature this Sunday morning was showing 5 deg C. But the low temperature did not seem to have scared off the locals from finding the way out in the nature. The trail was packed with Korean hikers sporting the very latest in alpine fashion, heading up the mountain.

We picked the Geumjong fortress as our hiking destination for the day. It is one of Korea’s Historical sites and is known for some of the city’s best hiking with spectacular view overlooking the city of Busan.

We took the subway to Beomeosa station and a short bus ride to Beomeosa temple that was our starting point for the hike. It was easy to find the bus to take as it was just to follow all the other hikers heading in the same direction. The bus was packed and sins we did not have any idea of where to get off the bus we just went off where most of the other people went off.

Well off the bus we tried to look for any sign in English on where to go next, but there are no sign. And we did not find any showing the way to the temple so we walked up some stairs and at this point we passed a small building and spotted that it said information. We went in and asked what direction to take and if they had any maps showing the area and they had. And surprisingly they gave us one in English. The women pointed out the direction for us to continue uphill and told us to keep on the left side of the temple.

From Beomeosa temple we followed the river course uphill on a rocky path and ascended relatively steadily. It took us about 40 min to reach the North Gate. At this point we needed a short break and something to eat. It was quite cold with a bit of wind so all the clothes taken off during or uphill climb had to get back on to try to stay warm when not moving.

The mountain contains a network of hiking trails and at the North gate the trails goes in different direction and this is when the map came in handy. Looking at the map we decided to follow the fortress wall to the south gate and from there descend by the cable car.

From the North gate it was again steep uphill for a short part and from there a mix of uphill and downhill, so quite pleasant hiking. We passed several watchtowers with some spectacular view of the city along the way.

Arriving at the different watchtower we checked on the map to located our self to make sure we were heading in the right direction.

Geumjeong Fortress is the largest mountain fortress in South Korea and was built in 1703 by King Sukjong in response to previous Japanese and Manchu invasions. The gates and 17km of walls have been mostly restored after destruction during the Japanese occupation (1910-45). The fortified area is immense and not particularly fertile thus it has fallen into disrepair several times throughout history.

Arriving at the South gate we followed the path to the gondola to return down from the mountain. It’s possible to walk down from the different gates but for us after hours of hiking we choose the easy way down.

Well down we walked to the Oncheonjang Station and from there took the subway back to our hotel.

To get to Beomeosa temple:

Take subway line 1 to Beomeosa Station. Walk to the Open air bus terminal and take Bus 90 to Beomeosa temple.

Jangsan mountain‏ in autumn colors

The path wound its way along the river, covered in leaves. It’s Autumn with winter just around the corner. The air is fresh with the sun trying to find its opening in the clouds. Nice temperature for a Sunday hike and a few hours surrounded by nature.

Just what we needed after a Saturday evening out.

My first visit to Jangsan Mountain was a few weeks earlier, so i new where to go this time. First time around was a bit tricky and along the way I had to ask for the right path taking me to the top as all signs was in Korean. Some spoke a bit English but others not that much, but with some body language and a picture taken at the entrance from one of the maps I managed to reach to the view point and from there found my way up to the top.

The only sign in English is at the entrance of the park were it show the way to the physical park and Peak.

Maybe it was the winter getting closer or maybe it was that it was later in the afternoon, but this Sunday the trail was less crowded. We went up the mountain the same way as i had done the first time, just to make sure we did not get lost.

People were doing some exercise in the physical park, sitting around chatting at the same time and some had stopped for lunch along the way. Along the river there are wooden platforms that you can sit down on and enjoy some quality time with a good meal and at the same time enjoy being in the nature.

We continued our way uphill until we came to a junction. At this point we choose the easy path around the mountain to get a bit of a break before the next steep uphill until reaching the view point.

A bit of a rest here and there was needed this day, so we stopped to enjoy the nice view of the mountain showing off the beautiful autumn colors.

Reaching the viewing platform the view is stunning and you have view overlooking the city of Busan. Haeundae District with the famous Haeundae beach in one direction and Gwangandaegyo Bridge with Gwangalli beach close by.

From the viewing platform you can see the peak. The path leading up to the peak it’s steep uphill. The top of the mountain is fenced off, but you can walk around and there are different trails that leads back to the viewing platform.

At one part of the mountain there is still land minds buried from the Korean war, so arriving at this area it’s all fenced off with warning signs all over to keep people away from entering in to these areas.

Most people are walking on the trails, but the easy trails can be done by bike and some people passed us on bikes on the very steep part down along the river. I think they regretted taken that way as they were struggling quite a lot having to carry the bike most of the way.

On our return we were quite happy having done the hike even do it was quite challenging in the beginning after a late Saturday night out.

And it must have been the fresh mountain air that gave some energy to fling around in the trees.

As most of the parks in Korea this also have a station with air blowers to clean off the dry dirt and dust from your shoes and pants before heading back home.

Some info about the mountain:

Jangsan is a Mountain located in Haeundae-gu in Busan with an elevation of 643 Meter above sea level. Signs posted indicate that an active land mine field is located on the mountain.

To get to Jangsan mountain exit the subway at the Jangsan station that is the end station on the green line. Take exit 10 and just follow the road to Daecheon park and from there it’s just to find your way to the peak.

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