Tourist Attractions & Monuments South Korea

During the Goryo Dynasty, this temple was called Jinjongsa and was used as a shrine in honor of the ancestors. Built by the Buddhist monk evangelist Ado, it is located within the Samnangseong fortress. Important architectural works such as the Daeungbojeon Hall with its delicate sculptures can be seen here. On its walls you can read the names of the soldiers who fought against the French naval troops. Other historical treasures are also to be discovered, such as the Beonjong bell.

This temple, which was built during the reign of King Munmu, was completed in 682 under the reign of his son Sinmun, who dedicated it to him. It was a very large temple of which only foundation stones remain as well as 2 large stone stupas 13 m high. Although damaged, they are still impressive. We also see a basin that was once connected to the sea by a canal to allow King Munmu, who became a sea dragon, to come to the temple at his leisure.

A bit of vocabulary: "oppa /오빠" is the term that means "big brother" to a woman. A Korean company has decided to offer foreigners the "rental" of a Korean man or woman (only for women) to accompany you on your visits. It's a really original concept and you will certainly learn a lot as they speak English and even French sometimes. Don't get us wrong, because even if it looks like it (photo to choose the person) it is not a dating site. But you will be able to make a friend.

This group of traditional buildings is an altar to the memory of Song Si-yeol (1607-1689), a scholar and statesman of Joseon. He was the tutor of King Hyojong and directed the neo-confucianist school Giho and adhered to the old doctrine (Noron). A little anecdote about Song Si-yeol: oral traditions say that in his early years, he is said to have possessed "magical powers" such as being able to read at night without a lamp or to see ghosts. We'll let you be the judge of that information. His notoriety increased as he grew older. This ritual specialist was a particularly virtuous conservative, which cost him his life. He reproached King Sukjong, who had raised one of his adulterous sons to the rank of prince, and was exiled to Jejudo. Called back to Seoul for trial, he was ordered to poison himself on the way (one bowl of poison was not enough to kill him, he had to ingest three). He was later rehabilitated and King Jeongjo raised the altar to him in 1785 (he himself wrote the plaque that adorns the main building). In addition to the altar itself (sadang), there is a pavilion facing the river, not far from the Daerosa memorial stele, which dates from 1787.

At the exit of the city before the bridge, Yeongweollu overlooks the river. This pavilion is in fact the former door of the district town hall, which was moved here when the new building was constructed in 1921. A good place to take pictures of the temple on the other side.

The indoor Seorak is certainly less visited than the outdoor part, but it occupies most of the park and also offers beautiful walks. There are 2 main entrances: Baekdam to the northwest and Jangsudae to the southwest, in addition to the Namgyo and Ongnyotang entrances.

From the entrance of Baekdam Park, a path leads to the Baekdamsa Temple. It was originally built by Jajang in 647 during the reign of Queen Jindeok in Hwacheom. Because of conflicts with the hunters of the area, it was later moved to Hangyeri near Inje. There it suffered a mysterious series of destructive fires, the place was deemed to be a bad place and the temple was moved there. The fires continued until a monk had a dream in which he saw pools of water pouring over the temple. The temple was renamed 백담사 Baekdamsa ("the temple of a hundred pools") and all went well until the war. It was razed to the ground and partially rebuilt since then. It is best known for the monk-poet Han Yong-un, who lived there (very famous author at the beginning of the century of the collection Le Silence de Nim, translated by Autre Temps in French). Near the temple is a refuge open all year round. It is the largest of the mountain. From there one can reach the outdoor Seorak by paths.

From Jangsudae, one can reach the Daeseung waterfall, one of the 3 big falls of Korea (88 m). From there, we can go up to Daeseungnyeong from where 3 paths start. One of them goes north to Baekdamsa temple. Let yourself be carried away by the beauty of this park.

Seoul National University is the best in the country in most areas. Opened after the war, it was transferred in 1975 to the foot of Mount Gwanaksan. It has two small museums that are worth a visit if you are going to hike on the mountain.

The University Museum, which is quite small, offers some interesting classical paintings, celadons and furniture.

The exhibition rooms of the Kyujanggak Archives are by far the most interesting. The modern building with a Korean roof houses the collections of the Royal Library once housed in a pavilion of the Changdeokgung Palace (Gyujangak, still visible). Founded in 1776 by King Jeongjo, these collections included the Royal Archives, a copy of each book printed in Korea and a collection of Chinese works reported by Korean ambassadors sent to Beijing.

Three other national archives had been created, including one on the island of Gangwhado, which provided the Korean holdings of the National Library in Paris, after the French took some books with them during the invasion of the island. More than 170,000 books, some of them very old, are kept here and are accessible to researchers. Two rooms display interesting works, such as music manuals, illustrated texts describing the complicated protocol of the Yi court, amazing maps of Korea and the world known at the time, a book on shamanism, the first book in Hangeul...

Gwangju, designated a Creative City of Media Arts by UNESCO in December 2014, aims to promote local culture, art and the city's economic development through the arts. The GMAP (Gwangju Media Art Platform) is one of the institutions involved in this outreach, where art and technology meet. The definition of "Media Art" is quite broad, ranging from sculpture to digital installation and performance art, but is generally focused on contemporary art. It's a great place to discover the local scene.