Seoul Sightseeing: Bongsunsa Temple (봉선사) - Vikingess Voyages

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Seoul Sightseeing: Bongsunsa Temple (봉선사)

Today I got visitors at my campus here in Korea for the first time!! Haha..
Tomoya and I in front of the entrance gate to Bongsunsa
Tomoya and his friend Ryosuke had actually taken the ferry from Osaka to Busan, and from there they drove all through South Korea in Ryosuke's family car. Yesterday they reached Seoul, and we decided to meet up. I mentioned that there was a nice temple by the dorm at Kyung Hee GIP campus where I currently live, so they decided to take the car come over. Normally it takes about 2 hours to get to Seoul by bus + metro from the campus, but it seems like there was a lot of traffic today so instead it took them 3 (!) hours to get here. It was an interesting place to meet up with Tomoya, whom I hadn't seen in a couple of months. I do feel kind of bad for making the two of them come all the way here to the middle of nowhere to visit me. But at least it seems they liked the temple^^
Statues by the road
One of the main buildings
Bongsunsa temple was first built in 969, but as the temple has been burned down several times it has also been rebuild a couple of times through history. Still, it is a popular destination (mostly for Koreans), and during the weekend it is always filled with people. Thanks to this temple we do have a couple of restaurants outside the campus, because there is really not anything else in the area here.. xP
When I and the other foreign students in my batch went to the closes immigration office to register the workers there had great difficulties accepting our application at first, because when they searched for our address in their system all that came up was the Bongsunsa temple.. Haha..

Details from the roof of one of the buildings
Korean colours
Traditional style



More details
The main square at Bongsunsa temple
From inside the main temple
It's a quite peaceful place..

























Anyway, this temple is the only thing to see in my neighborhood, and a place where GIPans usually end up walking to when there is nothing else to do. This was my first time actually bringing my camera here, but I'm sure I'll have more than enough time to visit again. And again.
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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.

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About Me

Adventures ofAnette


A modern day shield-maiden who loves to explore the unbeaten paths of the world. From her base in Tokyo, Anette takes on both rural and urban challenges, and goes by the motto "No challenge too big, no adventure too small"!
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