Hwaamsa to Sinseondae: Ulsanbawi, Face to Face
An hour's climb from a small Geumgangsan temple puts you level with Seoraksan's most famous rock wall. Few trails in Korea give this much for this little effort.
Quiet Korea
Places to sit down and stay a while
Temples, mountains, libraries, book cafés and other places in Korea where nobody will rush you. Korea for introverts, readers, and slow travelers.
Korea looks like a country of public squares — crowds, speed, noise. What visitors miss is how densely it is packed with small private rooms. A hermitage three hundred metres above a famous temple. A hanok library you can sit in all afternoon. A shrine bolted to a cliff with space inside for three people. Visitors wear themselves out here because they only ever find the square.
This section is a map of the other thing.
Temples & Mountains
De Hwaamsa a Sinseondae: Ulsanbawi, cara a cara
Una hora de subida desde un pequeño templo al pie del Geumgangsan basta para quedar a la altura de la pared de roca más famosa del Seoraksan. Pocos senderos de Corea dan tanto con tan poco esfuerzo.
Snow at Gucheungam
A small hermitage above Hwaeomsa, held up by quince trees, where I watched the snow fall with a dog for company.
Dawn at Gujeolsa
A small mountain temple on the edge of Daejeon, with two tiny shrines clinging to a cliff face like Cuenca's hanging houses.
Duwibong: A Mountain with Four Faces
It stands about as high as Sobaeksan, one of Korea's best-loved peaks, but sees a fraction of the hikers. The forest changes as you climb, and on its flank grows a yew more than 1,400 years old. It is the mountain I return to most often.
Reading Rooms
A Hanok Library at the Foot of Bukhansan
Most visitors meet hanok in Bukchon or Ikseon-dong, sharing the alleys with crowds and selfie sticks. In Banghak-dong there is one you can sit in all afternoon.