To Durunsan Mountain and Daeheungsa Temple a mountain that will never crumble | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Daeheungsa Temple on Mount Duryun is said to have been founded by Adohwasang in the 22nd year of King Seong of Baekje. In 2018, it was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site under the name ‘Sansa, Korean Mountain Monasteries.’ Daeheungsa is a temple where the spirit of patriotic Buddhism lives, and during the Imjin War, it was the main headquarters of the monk army led by Seosan Daesa. Moreover, Choi O Seonsa, who thought that tea contained the truth of Buddha and the joy of meditation, entered the valley of Daeheungsa and built Iljiam, dedicating more than 40 years to solitary practice. This made Daeheungsa a sacred place for Korea’s tea culture. Situated in a wide mountain basin, Daeheungsa shows a unique temple layout. Buildings are arranged in the North and South courts divided by Geumdangcheon stream crossing the temple, and unlike the layout seen in other temples, the buildings are freely positioned, creating a distinctive spatial arrangement. Far behind the South court lie Pyochungsa, the shrine of Seosan Daesa, and Daegwangmyeongjeon within Dongguk Seonwon. At Daeheungsa, there is the National Treasure, the Rock-carved Seated Buddha of Buk Mireukam, and in the Seosan Daesa Relics Hall, 24 relics including jade and jadeite statues bestowed by King Seonjo, Seosan Daesa’s handwritten documents, robes, shoes, and Buddhist scriptures written in gold and silver are preserved.

Duryunsan is a tourist destination with many temples, historic sites, and outstanding natural scenery. It is a mountain 700.0m high located at the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula, where subtropical evergreen broad-leaved trees and temperate deciduous broad-leaved trees form forests, making it significant in terms of plant distribution. The mountain is also covered with abundant silver grass fields, and from the summits of eight large and small peaks, the archipelagos of the West Sea and South Sea can be seen at a glance. On this mountain, there is Daedunsa (Daeheungsa), founded by Monk Adohwa in the 5th year of King Jinheung of Silla (544), a historic site also connected to Seosan Daesa. Within the temple are four national treasures, including Pyochungsa, Tapsansa, and the Bell of Tapsansa, one natural monument, and numerous artifacts. The dense forest’s autumn foliage and green camellia trees are a pride of the mountain. Along the 2 km road from the group facility zone to the temple, scenic valleys extend on both sides, creating a tunnel of lush and elegant trees. The Duryunsan Cable Car, part of a tour course linking the millennium-old temple Haenam Daeheungsa, Gosan Yun Seon-do’s Nokudang, the Uhahng-ri Dinosaur Fossil Site, the Usuyeong Myeongnang Battle Site, and Ttangkkeut Village, operates on a 1.6 km route at a speed of 3.8 m/s for 8 minutes.

Located at the entrance of Daeheungsa, this is a model designated establishment in Haenam-gun and a traditional well-being restaurant of the Namdo region. It serves only stone pot rice as its single menu, along with cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste stew). The generous side dishes include grilled fish, seasoned acorn jelly, stir-fried pork, namul vegetables, and kimchi, which awaken the appetite along with freshly cooked sticky stone pot rice. The cheonggukjang served with the stone pot rice uses soft tofu instead of firm tofu, providing a new, smooth texture in the mouth. The shiny glutinous rice is served from the stone pot into a rice bowl, then hot water is poured into the scorched rice at the bottom of the pot to make nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea), which is savory and refreshing, perfect to finish the meal.

Bohae has established the largest domestic maesil (green plum) orchard covering about 140,000 pyeong in Sanim-myeon, Haenam-gun, Jeonnam, and planted plum trees. Around late March, when the plum blossoms fully bloom, the entire orchard resembles a white snowy field. Along the entrance path to the orchard, camellia trees line both sides and bloom in March. Bohae Maesil Farm opens the orchard free of charge to the public temporarily every year during the plum blossom season. It is known as the filming location of the romance between the two main characters in the movie [You Are My Destiny], but since it is not widely known to the public, visitors can enjoy the plum blossoms leisurely. In March, the Sanim-myeon office hosts the Ddangkkeut Plum Blossom Festival in the entire Bohae Maesil Farm area. Besides plum blossoms, various unknown wildflowers bloom in pink, harmonizing with the white plum blossoms—a unique viewing point here. Fresh maesil harvested around mid-June from this farm is used as raw material for Bohae products, and fresh green maesil can be ordered by phone and delivered by courier only from March to May.

한때 한반도에도 북미 대륙의 오대호에 견줄 만큼 커다란 호수가 있었다. 이 해식절벽이 바로 백악기에 형성된 퇴적암층이다. 이곳의 퇴적암층은 주로 이판암(泥板岩)과 사암(砂岩)으로 이루어져 있다. 진흙이 굳어서 된 이판암에는 공룡·익룡·물새 등 수천만 년 전 이곳 호수 주변에 서식했던 동물들의 발자국화석이 선명하게 찍혀 있다. 이처럼 공룡·익룡 물새의 발자국 화석이 한 지역에서 모두 발견된 경우는 세계적으로도 달리 유례가 없는 일이라고 한다.