Seonunsan Provinical Park


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November 8th 2014
Published: November 23rd 2014
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We left around eight, the traffic was a nightmare, as everyone was travelling south. This is the peak weekend to see all autumn colours at their best. We had quick pit stop in Daejeon. We picked up some kimbap to keep us going. We drove on further and arrived at our first destination, Sinsido in Gunsan. Sinsido is the largest of the 24 islands in the Gogunsan Island Cluster. It is located at the centre of the Saemangeum Seawall, which connects Gunsan and Buan. It is the longest seawall of its kind in the world. We did a short hike, olny about half an hour up to a view point. The hike was quite steep. We thought that we were at the top, but we weren't and we had to go a bit further to reach the peak. The hike was okay, the views weren't amazing, as the sky was pretty overcast and hazy, and the west coast isn't renown for having the nicest beaches. I definitely think that you need nicer weather and clear skies to truly appreciate this area.

After the hike we had a little bit of free time to pop to the shop and get a drink. Then it was back on to the bus, where we ate our kimbap to prepare us for our hike later. We drove for about an hour, maybe longer I can't really remember. We arrived at Seonunsan Provincial Park. I was convinced that I had been here before. It looked really familiar, however later when I checked back on my old blogs, I realised it wasn't the same place, just it looked very similar at the entrance. We had to pay 2,000 won to enter the temple and start our walk from there. We skipped the temple thinking we would have time on the way back, of course, we didn't. I'm sure it's very pretty and not too different from the other temples I've visited. The name Seonunsan means 'to practice Zen meditation in the clouds', how beautiful is that.

We didn't have enough time in the park to do a proper hike, so we studied the map and decided on a route that would let us see some of the things on offer. We wandered along a gorgeous stream, first. The trees were are red, it was stunning. There were a lot of people about, but the park didn't feel crowded. I did have a good laugh, when one woman posing on a tree for photo, leaned back, lost her balance, and nearly rolled down into the stream. Comedy gold! The crowds thinned out a lot, as most people seemed to only visit the stream area, to get some photos of themselves surrounded by the beautiful fall colours.

We came to a fork in the road, and headed left to Dosolam. We walked for about twenty to thirty minutes, to reach the am. An 'am' is a hermitage, a smaller kind of temple. There was a lovely monk at the am's shop, we were a bit of a curiosity to him, but he was nice and friendly. We wandered around the am, taking a look at the buildings. One building in particular looked really new, I wonder if they have added it recently as they had the money to do so. The main temple, Seonunsa was said to have been established by the priest Geomdanseonsa and Daechamsa, the royal priest of King Jinheung, around 1,500 years ago. It is said that there were 89 temples scattered around the valley, but now, Dosolam is one of the few that remain.

We walked through the hermitage's ground and up a small hill. Up there, there is a Buddha carved into the side of a cliff. It was beautiful, so nice to see, I love these Buddhist carvings on rocks, it makes me think of how these temples have been here for thousands of years, and will continue to be more many more years to come. We hiked a bit further up the path. However, we decided that we didn't have enough time to go any further before darkness would start to fall. So we turned around and headed back the way we had came. It was so much quieter now, especially when dusk started to fall. It was already dark by the time we made it back to the bus.

We drove for over an hour to reach the minbak, where were staying. A minbak is the most ghetto of the accommodation options in Korea, and this one surpassed itself for its vileness. Not all the rooms had their own bathrooms, we were in a room with no bathroom, the toilets were downstairs and outside, and all squatters. We inquired about the shower to find out that it was also outside and cold water only. It's November and it is freezing at night. Totally unacceptable. The people with bathrooms were no better, as they just had a huge tub of lukewarm water to wash with. Really? Did we get transported back to post war Korea, of the 1960s. We found some slightly better accommodation, it had its own bathroom with hot water.

The town we were in Gusipo had a very lacklustre feel. I'm sure it would have been cracking in the 1960s or 1970s, or maybe in high season, but now it was like a ghost town, no people. Only one restaurant, and lots of empty shops. We ate dinner at the only restaurant in town.The restaurant was so nice and clean, we all wanted to sleep and shower in there. I don't really think I can give a fair impression of Gusipo as we arrived after dark, and left early in the morning, but I definitely feel that I will not return there. The town is famous for its jjimjilbang, which we wanted to go to, but there was confusion with that. We had read on the KTO website that it was open until midnight, but because this was low season, someone rang to check. We found out that it had closed at seven. However later we got talking to the owner of the jjimjilbang and found out that it closes for men at seven, but stays open for women until midnight. By then I was too tired to go.


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