Tuesday May 5, 2009
Gimcheon and Daegu
Another Sunny, Glorious Day!
Jikjisa
One of Korea's largest and most famous temple is Jikjisa. It was first constructed during the reign of the 19th Shilla king in AD 400s. It was rebuilt in 645 AD by Priest Jajang who studied for many years in China and brought back the first complete set of the Tripitaka Buddhist sculptures. It was completely destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1592 and rebuilt in 1602.
Jikjisa was my first stop for my itinerary today. It takes about 1.25 hours to get to Jikjisa from Daegu. 50 minute train ride and 20 minute bus ride. Again it was very easy but the bus ride can be tricky. Jikjisa is located in a cute and beautiful small town called Gimcheon. I was the only foreigner in town and found the people to be very nice. A young girl was surprised to see me take the bus and asked me where I was going. When I said Jikjisa, she stayed with me until we arrived at Jijiksa so that I knew where to get off! Very sweet.
I got to the bus stop by around 10am and found the area to be quite charming and picturesque. The temple is in the mountains surrounded by ancient monuments, quiet forests, a river and streams. Many of the monuments were covered with lush, green moss. The temple is a beautiful 20 minute or so uphill walk through a park dotted with modern sculptures.
Highlights of the temple include the Buddhist triad paintings on silk that were made in 1774. However, it is most famous because the monk Samyeong resided in Jikjisa. He was a military monk who spent many years in Geumgagnsan (the Diamond Mountains of North Korea). He organized troops to fight the Japanese in 1592 and later became the chief delegate to the Japanese court when a peace treaty was negotiated. There he successfully negotiated the the return of over 3000 POWs and he himself returned to Jikjisa.
Unlike Haeinsa and Gyeongju, the place was empty and this was Children's Day holiday! I was not disappointed though as I found it very spiritual and calming to basically have the whole place to myself.
The path from the bus stop to Jikjisa. Again because of Buddha's birthday it was lined with paper lanterns. All you have to do is follow the lanterns and it will take you to the temple.
The first gate to the temple. It was hot but the forest trees provided a lot shade so was bearable.
The beautiful and quiet path to the main building. Its supposed to be gorgeous in fall
The main entrance to the temple compound
The main building. Unfortunately, there was no English speaking guide available and also no English documentation so it was a bit difficult to know what each building is for.
Happy Buddha
The famous paintings were obscured by the paper lanterns. I was not allowed to go in unless I was praying and photos were only allowed from outside. They were beautiful though and well maintained.
The grounds of the temple.
A smaller temple on the grounds but very pretty
One of the main buildings
View from the highest part of the grounds
After spending about 2 hours on the grounds it was time for tea. There was a tea house on the grounds but unfortunately the menu was in Korean and no one spoke English or Japanese. So somehow I was able to convey that I wanted cold Korean tea and this is what came out. It was a delicious fruit tea with pine nuts in it.
One of the many cold Korean teas that I enjoyed during the trip.
View of the park that leads to the trail to the temple. It was modern and dotted with modern sculptures. All the kids and families were hanging out here instead of the temple on Children's Day
I took the bus and then the train back to Daegu station. I noticed there was a Lotte department store and like Japanese department stores the highest floor is used for restaurants. I found a Korean Zen food restaurant. They even had an English menu so I had noodles in Perilla and Green tea broth and vegetable kimchi dumplings.
Noodles in Perilla Green tea broth and Vegetable Kimchi dumplings
After an energizing lunch, I decided to go the the Traditional Medicine Market which is what Daegu in known for. Apparently, its the largest medicine market in Korea. The timing was impeccable as the yearly festival was happening. I saw a lot of interesting "medicines" and ended up buying some herbal ginseng based pills that are supposed to harmonize my body and soul. Unfortunately, very little English was spoken and no English signs so I have no idea what I was looking at most of the time
One of the stands at the festival with many different kinds of dried herbs.
I have no idea what these are
Antlers. Apparently its very good for you. Not for me!
Reflexology mat. If you are healthy, its not supposed to hurt. I wanted to try but too long of a line. Looked painful though!
Wholesaler of herbs
Pork offal stuffed in pork intestines. Not for me!
I'm not sure what this is but found these stores dotting the market. I wonder if they are candy shaped like food?
The entrance to the market and the fair