Korea: Cherry Blossom in Magoksa Temple

Last week, two koreans friends picked me up by car and drived me to GongJu. The road was so busy. Even if it was an afternoon on a saturday, roads in Korea are often crowed (highways and nearby Seoul can be a real hell, and leaving a city at 6pm is sometimes impossible). We arrived the evening, and had a nice dinner in a local restaurant. We visited several bars and drunk Makgeolli and finally slept in a JimJilbang near GongJu university. I really appreciated the sunday visit! I requested to my friends to visit Magoksa temple in the mountains next to Gongju (I heard about this place on Internet, but you will need a car to go there!). The temple was really beautiful in this sunny afternoon!

 

When we parked our car, we started by having a walk in a local park which was full of old Jangseungs (and I have to say that Iove these totems). The little park was not really interesting in my opinion, but some of the Jangseungs were really mysterious. 

 

To access to the temple, you need to walk for 10 minutes along a river and in the middle of the mountains. The place is quite and isolated. The day we choosed to visit Magoksa was however the same as countless korean families! But the first view of Magoksa was really nice! The cherry blossom, the beautiful river, the old bridge in stones, the old wooden temple and finally the sunny weather made a perfect atmosphere!

I really wanted to visit an appropriate place for the  cherry blossom week! I tried to go to Yeouido in Seoul, the week before, but the place was so crowed and the trees not really at the pike of the blossom, it made me a bit disapointed. There, in Magoksa, the place was much more natural and quiet!

 The temple is a regional one, it's said to be built 1,000 years ago, but was partially damaged by japanese invasion in middles ages. The temple itself is not that big, but beautiful and authentic. You can use the bridge to cross the river, but you can also use the big stones on the river!

 As I said, reaching Magoksa is difficult, but there is a bus from Gongju to the temple (just need to ask at the bus terminal). Reaching GongJu is however easy by using any major bus terminal (intercity bus). You can find more detailed information there.