Travelogue #1 - Haeinsa

In an effort to share some good places for day or weekend trips in Korea, I have decided to periodically write a blog about a cool place I have visited while here. I'll probably do other countries as well, but I thought I'd start with Korea and my favourite mountain temple complex: Haeinsa.

Haeinsa is a temple complex located in Gyeongsan province. The relevant historical background information can be found here. The major attraction here is the tripitaka Koreana, which is the entire tripitaka carved in to wooden blocks by monks in the 14th century. There are also several old stone pagodas that date to the founding of the temple (around 800AD) to the time of the Mongol invasion (around 1350AD). The rest of the temple has largely been rebuilt in recent years, but there have been serious efforts to preserve the original techniques and styles of the old temple, so it doesn't feel that new. The grounds themselves are beautiful any time of year (though it's freezing in winter) with views of the mountains and even some wildlife. You'll also breathe in something rare in Korea today. Fresh air. The area around the temple is also a great place to spend some time. There are many hermitages along mountain trails that you could spend days exploring, but there are also a few within a 10 minute walk of the entrance to Haeinsa. There are also several buddhist monuments near the entrance. Finally, the little town near the bus stop is a charming place to spend a few hours (or even a night). If you only have an hour or so, try the restaurant upstairs from the ticket office. They have great pajeon and some DongDongju to make the ride home a bit easier.

Getting there

The easiest way to get there is from Daegu's Seobu bus Station, which is located right behind Seongdanmot(성당못) subway station. It's on the same line as DongDaegu St (동대구역) if you are coming in from out of town. Buses leave every 40 minutes and run around 8000 won each way (though the price has been different every time I've been there). They make four stops before Haeinsa, which is the last one. There is an entrance fee of 2000 won but you don't always seem to have to pay it.

Buses will either let you off at a large building or at the bus station about 500 meters beyond it. There is no sign marking where to go to just walk to the large building and follow the dirt path past it to the parking lot and a small museum. On the far side of the parking lot you will see signs reading 해인사. Follow them.

                                           view from the highest point on the temple grounds

near the entrance to the temple

inside the main complex

the temple bell

the mountain view around Haeinsa

overlooking a temple building

art depicting parts of Siddhartha Gautama's life painted on the buildings

temple complex in summer, with 1000 year old pagoda