Lotus Kingdom - At Your Own Pace...

The famous "Baekje smile" is the characteristic friendly and warm facial expression of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, reproduced in the statues of the state of Baekje (18 BC - 660 AD).

Of course, reproductions and photographs are one thing; but getting to know the smile in the original is different! It used to be quite difficult to get to the "smile" - after all, the Buddhist trinity is located in the Korean outback - Sosan County, South Chungcheong Province, but now an asphalt road has been laid here; we have to walk only a short section of the path ... Nearby are the ruins of the temple, in which there was a hermitage (satellite temple / hermit's dwelling) with the Buddha and 2 bodhisattvas with our smile.

The unique technique and artistry of the unknown master will allow us to see the open, unburdened, friendly expression on the face of the Baekje people who lived here more than 1400 years ago.

The site of the martyrdom of over 1,000 Korean Catholics between 1797 and 1872. Pope Francis made a pilgrimage here in 2014.

Stone fortress built between 1417 and 1421. Here was the command post of the army of Chungcheong Province. The main purpose of the fortress is to resist the raids of pirates from Japan. For 10 months, Admiral Li Sunxing served here in 1578.

The oldest temple in Korea is Sudoksa. This temple is unique; he, one of the few Korean temples, was lucky enough to survive the war with Japan in 1592-1598. The oldest building of the temple - its main pavilion Taeungjeong - dates back to the Goryeo period (1308). On the beams supporting the roof of the building, you can still see the unique surviving image of the "Golden Dragon" from the Goryeo period. However, the temple was founded much earlier - in the Baekche era, information about its foundation dates back to the 6th century (Sabi period). Sudoksa is the only surviving Baekje temple!

At the end of the 19th - the first half of the 20th century, the temple became the center of the revival in Korea of "proper Korean" Buddhism, which was persecuted both under the kings of Joseon and under the Japanese colonial authorities. In particular, such famous monks as Gyeongho and Mangon lived and conducted their activities in the temple.

Did you know that dolmens in Korea are a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Sites with an "increased accumulation" of dolmens in Korea: about. Ganghwa, Hwasun and Gochang counties. Today we will see the largest dolmen in the world - it is located in Hwasun County.

The picturesque valley with beautiful views stretches for 4 km. We will walk along the valley, talk about why dolmens are needed, where they came from in Korea, we will climb into the Bronze Age quarry. And let's get acquainted with the legend of the giantess grandmother (no, that's not the name of the dolmen).

600-year-old village surrounded by a stone wall

The garden, which hosted the 2013 World Gardens Exhibition, impresses with its variety of landscapes, abundance of plant species and modern garden design.

The zones of the countries participating in Expo 2014 have been preserved, as well as separate zones created by excellent Korean gardeners.

From April to October 2023, the World Garden Expo 2023 will be held again at the Suncheon National Garden!

Ecopark is famous for its thickets of reeds, reaching heights higher than human height. This is the densest reed thickets in all of Korea. In addition, this place is known for the fact that cranes, storks, spoonbills and other rare birds fly here. There are about 140 different species of birds throughout the park.

The Buddha statue in this small temple in an artificial grotto is considered the most elegant in All of Korea! The grotto is located on the slope of Mount Tkhohamsan, where the winding serpentine of the mountain road leads.

The walk to the temple through the mountain forest from the parking lot takes about 15-20 minutes; depending on the weather, either a mysterious foggy landscape awaits us (fogs are not uncommon on this mountain), or breathtaking bird's-eye views of the thousand-year-old Gyeongju.

In the grotto, which is formally the hermitage of the Bulguksa temple, located below the slope, the dominant position is occupied by the above-mentioned statue of Buddha, sitting in a lotus position on a pedestal in the shape of a lotus. Around it at different heights are bas-reliefs and statues of bodhisattvas, arhats, Indra and Brahma, the Four Heavenly Kings.

If the group agrees, we can go down the mountainside to the temple of Bulguksa.

The main Buddhist temple of United Silla, it is now a place of pilgrimage for many guests of Korea.

The temple was built in 774 under the leadership of the premier of the state of Silla, Kim Taesong. Legend has it that Bulguksa was dedicated to the parents of the current, so to speak, Kim Taesong. While Seokguram, the temple-hermitage under Bulguksa, was intended for Kim Taesung's parents from his previous incarnations.

In 1995, Bulguksa and Seokguram were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Cheomseongdae is one of the oldest observatories in the world (7th century). The tower of the observatory is full of symbolism: the total number of hewn stones from which it is built; the number of rows of these stones before and above the small window, the shape of the stones... Reasonable Silakians paid attention to everything.

Cheomseongdae was built under the reigning Queen Seondok - one of three in the history of Silla. The queen ended up in a drama that, of course, was filmed in Gyeongju.

The only mound which inner parts are open to the public (though filled with replicas, it shows the inner construction of a Shilla mound)

The main state Gyeongju temple from the Silla period, the "Temple of the Yellow Dragon", Hwanyeongsa, has not survived; however, we still have a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the pagoda of a hermitage temple of Hwanyeongsa. The hermitage temple is called Punghwansa.

The peculiarity of the pagoda of Punghwansa is that it is built of stones, hewn in such a way that they resemble bricks in shape. What can you not do if you are not familiar with the technology (brick production, in this case)!

Though made anew, it is a nice and quite picturesque place, especially at night.