Off the beaten path

Exploring the backroads and backwoods of Korea’s glorious countryside is one of my passions. While the major attractions are worth visiting, getting off the beaten path brings unique rewards.

On my recent visit to Korea’s newest city, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City, in the southwest of the peninsula, I ventured from the populated area to Boseong County. Tucked away in a cozy canyon, many kilometers up a winding, cherry tree-lined road, is Daewon Temple, one of Korea’s earliest Buddhist temples.

Daewon Temple was founded in 503 C.E., the third year of King Muryeong’s reign, by the Venerable Ado, the renowned Buddhist missionary. During the Unified Silla period, the temple was one of the eight major temples of the Nirvana Order. Tragically, in the weeks following Korea’s liberation in 1945, most of the buildings were burned down during the Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion. Only the Hall of Pure Land was left standing. Since 1990, a restoration committee has been devoted to rebuilding the temple, including facilities to house monks, several shrines and the entrance gates.

The temple grounds and buildings are less extensive than those of many other temples in Korea, which lends a quiet, peaceful atmosphere to the grounds. The day I visited, there were no other guests. The main hall houses two national treasures and two additional tangible heritage works. They are hundreds of years old and miraculously survived the 1945 fire.

One of the most striking features is something that is rarely seen in Korean temples: small stone images of Jijang Bosal. As a patron saint of children, particularly those who died in infancy, were stillborn, miscarried or aborted, Jijang Bosal is a Bodhisattva who gave up enlightenment to remain in the earthly realm to provide succor.

Jijang Bosal is historically depicted as an adult in temple shrines. In Japan, however, it is common to see temples with hundreds of small statues of Jijang Bosal, often carved to look like a child monk. The tradition began in earnest in Korean temples as early as the 1990s but is still not commonly seen. Often, the stone figures have a small knit cap or a bib. Bereaved parents sometimes leave small toys as offerings. The practice is said to provide comfort to parents and give hope that the lost child will be reborn into another family in the future. Jijang Bosal has the power to make that happen.

Driving up the road to the temple, the first sight that came into view besides the glorious canyon and mountains was a Tibetan-style chorten, or pagoda. In the context of the Korean countryside, this was rather anomalous. Having visited Tibet a few years ago, I wondered if I had been transported to that distant western land. No, indeed, I was still in Korea — yet a large Tibetan-style museum building and several additional chortens came into view. Daewonsa’s peaceful canyon quickly took on an otherworldly aura. Next door to the Tibetan museum building is an Indian Museum, still under construction.

To be fully transparent, it was word of the Tibet Museum that piqued my curiosity and induced me to make the journey. I wondered how such a place could be possible. Opened in 2001, the museum is three stories tall and full of Tibetan art and Buddhist artifacts. A mannequin is dressed in robes worn by the Dalai Lama himself. He gave them as a gift to Daewon Temple’s abbot, Rev. Hanjeong, who has been traveling to Tibet and collecting artifacts for more than 30 years. The museum (and the neighboring Indian Museum, when it opens next year) houses the monk’s vast collections.

Though it is a museum, the altars and images within are sacred objects, and guests may kneel and pray as their faith leads. Hands-on activities make the museum child-friendly, and the extensive museum shop offers faith-related items and a large collection of books on the topic. The museum and temple can be reached by bus from the Gwangju Bus Terminal. County buses also serve the temple. Most taxi drivers are also willing to make the trip for customers at metered fares.

While you’re in the area, be sure to stop at the renowned Gungjeon Bakery, founded in Gwangju in 1973. The original shop is a short walk from the former Provincial Office. They have some distinctive specialty baked goods, including "butterfly" pie.

Daewon Temple and the Tibet Museum may be far from Seoul, but combined with a visit to the 5.18 Memorial Halls at the former provincial office complex, they make for a pleasant weekend trip. And there are plenty of other things to do, see and eat in the area also.

Rev. Steven L. Shields, FRAS {slshields@gmail.com} has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, he is also a life member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Korea, of which he was a director, vice president and president. He was a copy editor at The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.