Saturday, February 19, 2011

Haedong Yong Gung Temple, Busan


Think of every temple you've been to in Korea. Where has it been located? With the exception of some city temples like Jogyesa in Seoul, most are located in the mountains, right? It's easy for foreigners to feel some temple fatigue after visiting three or four temples because... well.. they all start to look the same, unless you're some sort of expert on Korean Buddhist art/architecture or something.  So, for those of you suffering from this temple fatigue, I suggest you visit Hae Dong Yong Gung Temple in Busan for a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively). As the name would suggest, it is located along the ocean as opposed to the mountains giving visitors some new scenery to appreciate.



As I entered the temple, I found statues of all the animals of the Chinese zodiac. So I had to get a picture with the cow, my zodiac sign!


If you rub this buddah's belly, you will be blessed with male children. As I don't want to be blessed with any children at the moment, I figured It'd be best not rub his belly.....


Often at temples I see a few of these little buddhist figurines here and there. At this temple, though, they had the biggest collection I'd ever seen. They are so cute, I couldn't help taking way too many photos of them. I just posted my favorite here to spare my readers from becoming underwhelmed...  


The best part about this temple, though, is the scenery, of course. I've heard it's the only (or at least the first) temple from which you can see the sunrise over the ocean. 


To get to Hae Dong Yong Gung Temple, you can take bus 181 from Haeundae station. It's about a 30 minute bus ride. If you happen to be in Busan, this was one of the highlights of my trip and I highly recommend checking it out! 

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