Gongju, Gochang #1 -

Gongju, Gochang #1 - "Magoksa Temple" the old temple with natural landscape (1) - (Korea Tour)

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Last Modified : 2017/02/18

Travel regions : South Korea

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Start
Magoksa Temple-1
Magoksa Temple-2
Magoksa Temple-3
Black rubber shoes
Seonunsa Temple-1
Seonunsa Temple-2
Dolmen Museu
Finish

When you open the website of Magoksa Temple, you can see the greeting words “Culture stroll road with the heart”. It recommends that you should step over stone bridge in the temple, and listen to the sound of cool water. It is Eco-friendly place with the sound of water and wind at the entrance of the temple.

Magoksa Temple, which is located in the middle of Taehwasan, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do, is the sixth parish main temple of the Jogye Order. It means it is the head temple which supervises temples in Daejeon, Chungcheongnam-do. It is one of 28 head temples in Korea. Kim Koo concealed his body in the temple and lived as a monk. So there are a lot of signboard that directs the trail where he enjoyed to take a walk, and memorial ceremony for Kim Koo is held every year.

The temple is so beautiful in spring that it has been called as “spring magok”. That is the reason why I should visit here in next spring. It was built by Jajang yulsa, the high priest of Silla in 640. In the Joseon dynasty period, King Sejo visited the temple, and put up a signboard named “Yeongsanjeon Hall”.

The monks practice asceticism in summer and winter in Taewhaseonwon. A lot of head monks also visit here from other temples. They should sit in meditation while embracing Whadoo. It is autonomous, but strict.

Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do is famous for delicious chestnuts. So it is natural that there a number of Roasted Chestnuts merchants at the entrance of the temple. Some word says, “If you don't eat Roasted Chestnuts, you would be given a clout.”

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Some local people were selling a lot of crops like peeled deodeok, black bean, ginkgo nut and oats. I purchased deodeok as its smell is so strong. I also purchased Okgwang chestnut, the best kind of Gongju chestnut. I also bought black bean, hand-made Hangwa. All of them are high-quality, and far more cheaper than Seoul.

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What is this first gateway at the entrance of the temple called? It is Iljumun Gate. There are always the name of mountain and the temple. You would know Magoksa temple is located at the foot of Taehwasan.

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It would be better to take a walk on this beautiful Solbaram road holding spring wind.

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This is the history of Magoksa temple. There are two kinds of people in tourist attraction. One reads all guidelines and histories, but the other just passes by them. You can understand the tourist attraction after watching it. So you should make an attempt to understand it.

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Like

the picture below, the water flows across the center of the temple.

It is natural that Magoksa temple is beautiful all the year around.

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The trail makes you head to Yeongunam under the morning sun. I headed to the precincts of the temple, not following the trail. The forked road reminds me of the poem,”The Road not Taken” written by Frost.

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I could see the Korean-style coffee shop after taking a walk on the right side. I was surprised by two things. One is that there were a lot of foreigners who had a cup of coffee. And the other is that the cafe did not sell Medicinal Herbal Tea or green tea. There was only a billboard written “Delicious coffee on sale”.

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You can enter the precincts after crossing the bridges for two times. There is a signboard written “temple stay” at the entrance of the first bridge. I could understand why there were so many foreigners in the cafe at that time.

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The name of the gateway is Haetalmun. Does it mean you can reach nirvana when you pass the gate? Or, does it mean you must keep your initial determination? The latter is right, I guess. In fact, Haetalmun is the front gate of Magoksa temple, and has the meaning of entering the world of Buddha.