Seoul: Bongeunsa Temple and Gyeongbokgung Palace

The entrance to Bongeunsa really doesn’t indicate the magnificence of this Buddhist temple in Gangnam. It was early evening when we arrived; several stalls were closing, a few tourists were taking photographs and a couple of ATMs flashed next to the entrance archway. We proceeded through the archway to find beautiful flowers lining the path to the main hall, and turning around, the archway we had walked through was brilliantly decorated.

As we walked through the main temple, a meeting was taking place, so we walked quietly into a courtyard containing two more halls. The air was sweet with the smell of incense, and prayer was taking place inside one of the halls. We briefly observed from outside, before our attention was captured by further halls on a tree-filled hillside. Having walked past those smaller halls, one of which was lit by candlelight, we made our way to the drum pavilion, where a monk had begun striking an enormous drum with a swinging pendulum. We listened to the drum ceremony before browsing the main hall. As it was dark, and we hadn’t researched the temple beforehand, we managed to miss out on seeing the 23 metre tall Buddha, which is apparently Bongeunsa’s main tourist attraction.

The first thing we noticed upon arrival at Gyeongbokgung Palace was the many young Koreans in traditional dress. On the guided tour we joined, it was explained that taking selfies at historic sites is how Seoul’s teenagers like to spend their Saturdays. They also get in free if in traditional dress, which seems a great idea. From this experience and others, it appears to me that young South Koreans are proud of their history and culture.

The guided tour was excellent. The guide explained the history of the palace, and the fact that almost none of it is original, due mostly to the Japanese destroying many buildings during their occupation. The contrast between the living areas of the King and Queen was excellently explained. I hadn’t considered that a King and Queen would not share a bedroom, or that the King would have multiple wives. The buildings were impressive, as was the scenery. In this extremely busy city, it was one of the places that felt really relaxed, even when full of weekend visitors.

Overall, Seoul was brilliant, and is definitely a highlight of our trip. I’m pretty sure we’ll visit again – we really need to see that Buddha!

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