Writing Samples
 

Writing Samples

This is where I'll add the most recent samples of my writing to my web site. If you've visited me before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.

12 September 2007

Published on ezinearticles.com

Pulguksa Temple and Sokkuram Buddha

When visiting another country you naturally want to go sightseeing.  You look through tourist brochures or websites to find what looks interesting.  This article is about a sightseeing daytrip I took from Busan to the city of Kyongju which was the former capital of the Shilla Kingdom in Korea.

When I arrived in Kyongju I had to take a bus from the railway station to Pulguksa Temple.  Getting off the bus I found myself in a car-park.  I wanted to see the Sokkuram Buddha before the Pulguksa Temple but was a little unsure where to go next.  After looking round I found pictorial maps on big billboards showing the main sights of the area and after studying these I found the path I was supposed to take.  I had a brochure with me of what I wanted to see so armed with this, my English and a burning curiosity off I went.  I was painfully aware that I was by myself on this trip as I started to walk up a lonely road into thick forest.  The further I walked the higher I went.  I met people every now and then coming down the mountain so I showed them the picture of the Buddha and they pointed up the mountain so on I pressed.  The mountain reached into clouds and I had to climb lots of steep steps going ever up.  Eventually I reached the top after climbing for three kilometers and there was a tourist shop where you could buy tickets to see the Buddha.  You could also buy postcards and other souvenirs at the shop.  Having bought my ticket I found that I had still further to walk but eventually I came to the end of the road and there was the place in front of me.

Somehow I expected something a little bigger and grander.  I expected to walk into a cave with this giant Buddha in front of me but I walked into what looked like a house and behind protective glass was this beautiful stone Buddha built into a grotto.  How I would have loved to photograph this Buddha but Koreans do not want westerners taking photographs of Buddhist images for fear the Buddha will not be reverenced in the West.  I had therefore to content myself with buying a book on Kyongju with lots of photos in it and some postcards as well.  Luckily there was a shop close to the Buddha selling these things at quite high prices.  Koreans, it seems, know how to make money.

Having seen the Sokkuram Buddha I headed back down the mountain the way I had come.  Eventually I arrived back at Pulguksa Temple and paid my admission fee.  You walk through these grand ornamental gates feeling rather dwarfed as you do so and after a short walk you reach the Temple.  What a stunningly beautiful and peaceful place this is.  You cannot enter into the Temple because due to its great age the building is unsafe.  After I had taken photos of the Temple and looked through the souvenir shop I was ready to go back to Kyongju by bus.  Outside Pulguksa I stopped to buy a delicious hot dog from a vendor and make use of immaculate restroom facilities near the car-park.  After visiting the Tourist Information Center I got on the bus when it arrived and headed back to Kyongju.  With time to spare until the train back to Busan I started to explore the many shops of this fascinating oriental city.  I discovered a park in the city that has many ancient tombs in it.  These royal tombs are grass covered mounds but they were closed for viewing at the time I was there.  After dining at Pizza Hut I was totally satisfied with my day.  I got back to Busan that night but what an incredible day of sightseeing and wonder. 

This article gives you a glimpse of two famous tourist attractions in Korea.  If you ever have the opportunity to go there I totally recommend it.  Pulguksa Temple and the Sokkuram Buddha are worth seeing and are things you will never forget.

Hedley Benge

Previous articles put on this page. 

(These are available as PDF files.)

10 tips for teaching English in Korea (Part 1)

10 tips for teaching English in Korea (Part 2)

Organizing the Clutter

Kiwi's Korean Sojourn

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Last modified: 09/15/07