Jikji-sa, Gimcheon, South Korea

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Jikji-sa (Jikji Temple) is by far one of my favorite places in South Korea. It is a temple located 20 min outside of Gimcheon, and it provides a few hours of rest, tranquility, a great walk, beautiful scenary, and of course a marvelous tea house. It is not as big as various other temples in South Korea; however it is one of the best to visit. The best way to get there is to take the bus, only 900 won, from the center of town. Once there, one can get lost in the 2 square blocks of shops and restaurants that are around the area. The shops provide cheap souvenirs, but surprisingly you can find some of the things inside the temple for a bit cheaper. The restaurants are great, and any one you choose, you will be satisfied. They have the best bi-bim bap in Gimcheon, or you can get the 'sample' as I call it. For around 10,000 won you can get over 20 dishes, that will fill you up, along with rice and soup.
I first went with one of my students' father, who had invited me the night before to his house for dinner with his family and another teacher at the school. I guess he enjoyed my company and invited me to the temple the next day. It was the middle of fall, and the leaves were of the most beautiful colors. After this, I would go to relax a few hours once or twice a month.
Heading up to the temple, one passes the Gimcheon Cultural Park. It is beautiful, and at night they offers water shows with the fountain. At the top of the hill, there is a playground for children. The park has several objects of Korean culture along with various famous poems carved into rocks for display. In my opinion, the highlight of the park is the section for the foot massage, where a path, fairly long, is set up with various indentations, rocks, and wood to 'torture' your feet in the most of pleasurable of ways.
Walking a slight incline to the temple, you first see the gate. Beautifully painted with various colors, the structure jumps out at you. The entrance fee is almost nothing, and a very nice stroll through some woods to the temple itself is nice. Some more gates, and a final gate with wonderful wooden statues greets you before you get into the temple. You first walk into the main yard, where two huge pagodas are present. From the entrance various buildings are located to your right, and then in front of you, you see the main temple. Three Golden Buddhas are are located inside, and the paintings behind them are dazzling.
From the main yard, you walk to the left, and walk through a pathway where various smaller temples can be seen. At the end of the walkway there is a huge bell.
From here the whole area is beautiful. You can get lost. Up a little on the mountainside, Jikji-sa is located between two of the 'tallest' mountains in Gimcheon (only 800 m). The university was recently built, and monks still reside and study at the temple--some signs say the temple is from the 800, around the time Buddhism first began to be introduced to the Korean penninsula, while others say the 1600s (I never was told the exact date, and every person in town I asked gave me a different date). One can take a tour, and sleep the night as well. The temple also has a great tea house--by far some fo the best tea I have tasted.
If you have a weekend while in South Korea, going to Gimcheon to visit Jikji-sa is worth the time (Gumi is only 30 minutes away, and Daegu is 50 min away--Andong is 1 hr away, and Gyong-ju under 2 hrs away--while Seoul is 3hrs.)

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