The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

Southeast of the city of Seoul in the fertile plains of Gyeonggi Province (경기도) sits the town of Yeoju (여주) along the North Han River (남한강). Just outside of this town is the burial sites of the most revered King in Korean history, Sejong the Great (세종대왕). If you are ready to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul and get out to the countryside, Yeoju and the Tomb of Sejong the Great will make a great day trip.

Content

• A (Very) Brief History of Sejong the Great
• Meeting Location & Getting to Yeoju
• The Tomb of Sejong the Great
• Local Restaurant

A (Very) Brief History of Sejong the Great

Sejong the Great was the fourth King of the Joseon Dynasty (조선시대) and the grandson of King Teajo (태조) who founded the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. He is the most revered King in Korean history for his benevolence towards to the people; his achievements in science; his military expeditions to secure the boarders of his lands; and the invention of the Korean alphabet: Hangul (한글).

Before Sejong's reign, Chinese characters were used for written communications in Korea. While many of the words in Korean and Chinese overlapped, Korean is a very different language from the Chinese. Because of this, Chinese characters cannot perfectly convey everything in the Korean language. To solve this problem, Sejong the Great commissioned the Korean alphabet and presented it to the people of Korea in 1446.

During my time reading about Korean history, the texts in English that I have found about him only talk about his merits and accomplishments (George Washington cut down the cherry tree and never told a lie, right?). Throughout conversations with some of my Korean friends, I have found out a few other things about him including his affinity for meat, women and cursing.


Meeting Location & Getting to Yeojou

For those living in Seoul, meeting at Exit #1 of Express Bus Terminal (고속버스터미널) will be a good choice. Exit #1 is nearby the ticket booth that sells the tickets to Yeoju. One way tickets to Yeoju cost 5,200 Won and leave from Gate 23, which is also close to Exit #1. The first bus to Yeoju leaves at 6:30am with buses leaving every 20~30 minutes until 10:00pm.


View The Tomb of Sejong the Great Meeting Location in a larger map
The trip from Express Bus Terminal to Yeoju normally takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. One note when planning a trip outside of Seoul by bus, do not plan a trip during a three day weekend. Our trip was on the three day weekend during Buddha's Birthday (부처님 오신 날). The normally 70 minute bus ride ended up taking 3 hours due to all the travelers trying to leave Seoul at the same time.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

You know you have arrived in Yeoju when you see the statue of Sejong the Great at the entrance of the town of Yeoju. The Yeoju Bus Terminal is right behind the statue.


The Tomb of Sejong the Great

Upon your arrival at Yeoju, you will be at the Yeoju Bus Terminal in the southern part of town. Once you exit the bus terminal, turn right and you will be facing north. Only about 75 meters down the road will be a local bus stop in front of the convenience store Buy the Way (바이더웨이) and Kimbab Heaven (김밥천국). From here you can catch a bus to the Tomb of Sejong.

Buses to the Tomb of Sejong the Great
Bus Number	Departure Time
Bus #52-2	9:30am
Bus #52-6	1:00pm
Bus #54-2	2:50pm

View Yeoju & The Tomb of Sejong the Great in a larger map
If you are quite a bit early or just missed the bus, there will be a line of taxis nearby. From the Yeoju Bus Terminal to the Tomb of Sejong the Great will only take a couple of minutes and cost about 4,000 Won. Since this is the countryside, some of the taxi drivers' ability to communicate in English might be a bit lacking. Never fear, you can copy the following, print it out and present it to the taxi driver. 세종대왕릉으로 가 주세요. (Please take us to the Tomb of Sejong the Great.)

Once you arrive, a short walk across the parking lot will bring you to entrance to the grounds leading to the Tomb of Sejong the Great. The entrance fee here is only 500 Won. One of the first things that you will notice when you first enter on your left is a display of different scientific instruments that were developed during the reign of Sejong the Great. One notable item would be the Armillary Sphere (혼천의) which was built buy the famous inventor Jang Yeong-sil (장영실) and is also found on the back of 10,000 Won Korean Bank Note.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

On the right is a another statue of Sejong the Great. Just beyond this statue and the display of the scientific instruments of Sejong the Great's time is an indoor and outdoor museum about Sejong the Great and the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty respectively.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

Further into the park, you will find a small man-made lake on your left. Next to the pond is a vending machine that sells food to feed the Koi fish for 500 Won. Beyond the lake, the park opens into grassy expanse that is surrounded by tall, slender, Korean Red Pine trees.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

At the end of the opening, a few small buildings will appear. Behind them is a small hill that is flanked by trees on all three sides. At the top of the stairs is the Tomb of Sejong the Great and his wife Queen Wongyeong (원경왕후). You can get to the top of the hill to view the tomb by the stairs on the right.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

When you are ready to head back to Yeoju, you can catch a bus at the same bus stop that go off at near the entrance to the park. Be sure to plan your time carefully since there are only three buses that stop here. The departure time of these buses are as follows.

Buses to Yeoju Bus Terminal

Departure Time

10:10am

2:30pm

3:50pm

If you end up missing the bus, you could always call the local taxi service at: 031-884-4197. If no one in your group speaks Korean well enough to call for a taxi, you could ask someone nearby to help you. You can print off the following phrase: 우리는 여주로 가는 버스를 놓쳤으니까 택시를 불러 주세요. (Could you call a taxi for us since we missed the bus to Yeoju.) Puppy dog eyes may help in this situation.


Local Restaurant

If you are looking for some food from a local restaurant that serves Korean food, you can find a restaurant called Bird of the Sky (하늘새) just southeast of the Yeoju Bus Terminal.


View Dining in Yeoju in a larger map

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

Bird of the Sky is a restaurant that serves Korean meals based around side dishes (반찬). This type of meal in Korea is called Han-joeng-shik (한정식). For 11,000 Won per person, you will be served three rounds of different types of side dishes. There is definitely a large variety of foods and tastes in this type of meal.

From The Tomb of Sejong the Great (세종대왕릉)

This restaurant may be a tiny bit pricey, but it offers a selection of more tradition Korean food. A much better (and healthier) choice than hitting up a local fast food chain.


Yeoju and the Tomb of Sejong the Great is a excellent choice for a day trip to escape the concrete jungle of Seoul. The town is just about an hour outside of Seoul by bus. This trip offers some lovely scenery, clean air and an important part of Korean history.

The Lotus Lantern Festival (연등축제)

Once a year comes the Lotus Lantern Festival (연등축제) which celebrates the Buddhist Holiday of Buddha’s Birthday. This year, one week before the actual holiday, the streets of Seoul were closed off for the parade and celebrations.

Conent

• A (Very) Brief History of Korean Buddhism
• Meeting Location
• Jogyesa Temple & The Parade

A (Very) Brief History of Korean Buddhism

Buddhism was founded between 6th and 4th Century BCE in the Indian subcontinent. Overtime, Buddhism spread throughout Asia and reached the Korean Peninsula after passing through China.

Buddhism was first introduced to Korea during the Three Kingdoms of Korea and later became the state religion during the Goryeo Dynasty. During this time, Buddhism became a prominent force in Korean society and gained much affluence and power.

After the fall of the Goryeo Dynasty, the Joseon Dynasty followed. Buddhism was suppressed – but not exterminated – in order to combat its influence that competed with King’s authority. Because of this, Buddhism and its temples moved out of the city and into mountains. Even today, most Buddhist temples are located in the mountains around the urban areas. The sizable Jogyesa Temple (조계사) is an exception to this rule, being one of the few temples located in downtown Seoul.


Meeting Location

The Jogyesa Temple, which is the central location for the Lotus Lantern Festival, is located in the heart of downtown Seoul. The best subway station to meet at would be Jonggak Station (종각역) since it is not only the closet subway station to the Jogyesa Temple, but it is along the main parade route.


View The Jogyesa Temple Lostus Lantern Festival Meeting Location in a larger map
When coming to Jonggak Station, it will be probably better to travel through the downtown Seoul area by subway, especially the closer you get to the start of the parade. Many roads will start to get congested as the participants in the parade get ready. Right before the parade starts, major roads will be closed leading to heavy traffic. Also, buses that normally run in this area will be detoured to other parts of the city. If you are taking a bus into Seoul, you might want to think about getting off before the downtown region and take the subway the rest of the way in.

Since the parade starts at 7pm, you might consider meeting an hour or two earlier for dinner. There are a few restaurants near the exit but there are plenty more in the surrounding areas, especially east and south of Jonggak Station.


Jogyesa Temple & The Parade

This year was the first Lotus Lantern Festival that I participated during my time here in Korea. Some of my Korean friends were shocked to see how large this festival has become compared to the ones they have seen in the years before. With the increase of popularity of this festival, timing becomes an important issue. Some of my friends talked about how extremely crowded the Jogyesa Temple grounds became after the end of the parade. Luckily, with some foresight and a bit of luck, we were able to have an enjoyable evening without having to fight the crowds.

6:45pm

At about this time, hopefully you are finished with dinner and heading towards the Jogyesa Temple. Along the way, you will find quite a few stores near the entrance of the temple grounds selling various Buddhism related items. For this holiday, these stores were caring different types of Lotus Lanterns of all shapes and sizes. I was able to pick up a medium sized plastic lotus flower shaped lantern for about 10,000 Won that came with an LED light and battery. By the end of the night, most of my friends had been given a more angular paper lantern that came with a real candle for free. I did see a few paper lanterns that had been singed or burnt near the end of the evening.

At 7:00pm, the sun will not have gone down yet, so you can get a good look at the temple grounds in the daylight. It will be quite a bit of shock when you first see the thousands upon thousands of lotus lanterns hanging all around. In addition to the lanterns, you will be able to see different statutes, paintings, pagodas and other pieces of Buddhist art. Inside the main temple, you can take a picture of the large Buddhist statues, but be careful since there will be people there who will be bowing and praying.

From The Lotus Latern Festival

7:30pm

Around 7:00pm at Dongdaemun (동대문), the Lotus Lantern Festival Parade will have started. Since Jonggak Station and Jogyesa Temple are at the very end of parade route, you don’t need to be waiting on the side of the streets when the parade starts. 7:30pm would be a good time to leave the temple grounds and start heading south on the road outside of the temple towards Jonggak Station. At this time the roads should be blocked off so you can enjoy a nice stroll down the middle of a street that is usually full of cars. Sooner or later you will come across the parade. At that time, you can simply stand off to the side and enjoy the parade as it passes by.


View The Lotus Lantern Festival Parade in a larger map
Around this time, the sun will be going down and the illuminated lanterns and floats in the parade will create a wonderful ambiance. I should note that camera phones are not apt at taking pictures of moving objects in the dark. Because of this, I am unable to share any pictures that I took from the parade.

During the parade, you will see a wide variety of people carrying glowing lanterns. You will be able to Buddhist monks in their simple grey robes, along with people dressed in traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok (한복) and many other people from all walks of life associated with the Buddhist community. Also, there will be illuminated floats depicting different aspects of Buddhism along with more contemporary subject matters.

8:20pm

While the Lotus Lantern Festival Parade is a wonderful sight, it starts to get a bit repetitive. Around 8:20pm would be a good time to head back to the Jogyesa Temple grounds. If you wait until the end of the parade, you may find it extremely hard to move around at the temple grounds since there many parade viewers will all be arriving at the same time.

Since the sun will have gone down by this time, the entire temple will be lit up by the thousands of glowing lotus lanterns. Behind the main gate, in the first section of the temple grounds, the yellow overhead cover of lanterns will spell out in blue and green Korean letters, “We too are with Buddha” (우리도 부처님 같이).

From The Lotus Latern Festival

While the entire grounds is lit up in a colorful display, I found that my favorite part was in the very back of the temple grounds, west of the temple itself. Here a corridor of softly lit lanterns slowly changed colors overtime. Not only were the visual display of this corridor stunning, I found this area quite peaceful since it was tucked around from the main part of the temple grounds.

From The Lotus Latern Festival

All throughout the temple grounds, there was a festive atmosphere of people enjoying the celebration. Even with all of this going on, people will still be inside of the temple participating in religious ceremonies. Outside on the street in front of the temple, you will probably be able to hear people from the parade still playing music on their traditional Korean instrument. With the glowing lanterns, the numerous people strolling around and the music from the streets, Jogyesa Temple is a marvelous place to be during the Lotus Lantern Festival.


I got a bit lucky on my first time going to the Lotus Lantern Festival in downtown Seoul. With the right planning, we were able to enjoy the festival without being bogged down in the crowds. I look forward to coming back to Jogyesa Temple next year when the 2013 Lotus Lantern Festival takes place. I will definitely be reviewing this blog post next year before the festival.

The Han River Bike Ride - Ttukseom Resort Station (뚝섬유원지역)

Along the banks of the Han River and its many tributaries are a plethora of biking and walking paths.  There are many places to meet up with friends for a bike ride, but Ttukseom Resort Station (뚝섬유원지역) provides a convenient place to meet, especially for those who don't own a bicycle.

Content

• Meeting Location & Bicycle Rentals
• Scavenger Hunt
• Picnic / Restaurants

Meeting Location & Bicycle Rentals

Located on the north side of the river in eastern Seoul, Ttukseom Resort Station (뚝섬유원지역) offers a relatively easy to reach meeting location for those in downtown Seoul, eastern Seoul and the Gangnam area.


View Han River Bike Ride Meeting Location in a larger map

For those of your bringing your own bike, Ttukseom Restort Station has been built to be biker friendly.  Instead of caring your bike down the stairs, many of the stairs have been equipped with narrow ramps along the side to help guild your bike up and down the stairs on a smooth incline.  While in some other subway stations these ramps may be black, the ones in Ttukseom are a maroon color as seen in the picture below.

From The Han River Scavenger Hunt

At the bottom stairs of Exit #2 under the station, there is a bicycle rental stand that offers rentals at an affordable price.  The first hour is 3,000 Won and it's only 2,000 Won per hour after that.  Behind the stand there are hundreds of bicycles, so getting one really shouldn't be a problem.

From The Han River Scavenger Hunt

From here, the biking path is located in front of the bicycle rental stand.  The two way path extends both east and west for a long distance.  If you hit the trails early in the morning, there won't be many cyclist and you can bike at a brisk pace.  Later in the day you will find the biking paths more congested.


Scavenger Hunt

For some, a peaceful bike ride along the Han River might not be the ideal way to spend the afternoon.  It is possible to turn the day into something more interesting and competitive.  The best way to do that is to turn the bike ride into a Scavenger Hunt.

The basic idea behind the Scavenger Hunt is to divide your friends into groups (of at least two team members) and using cameras or cellphones, each group tries to find and take pictures of items on a list given beforehand.  This list could be something basic or more complex, depending on how much time and effort you want to put into it.

For a basic Scavenger Hunt, you could brainstorm a list of possible items that are likely to somewhat likely to be seen while biking along the Han River.  Here are a few examples.

• A picture of your team members with a dog.
• A picture of someone near the top of rock climbing wall.
• A picture of a helicopter (it is not uncommon to see civilian or military aircraft in the area).

From The Han River Scavenger Hunt

For those of you interested in making something a bit more complex, another idea would be to scout out the area beforehand and make a list of distinct landmarks or items to take pictures.  Also, instructions for poses in front of each object could be included in the list.  One example from our list was:

• Locate a tall black pillar with three statues of rock climbers on it.  Have two team members pose in front of the pillar.  Make sure that all three rock climbers are visible in the picture.

Our trip took place along a 4 mile (6.2 km) long path originating at Ttukseom Resort Station.  Within this limited area, we were able to find 14 unique objects for our Scavenger Hunt.


View Scavenger Hunt Bike Path in a larger map

For those of you who are good at reading maps or savvy with Google Maps, you could create a map with the locations of the different objects on it.

Another benefit for a Scavenger Hunt is that it provides a chance for your friends that are ESL students to practice their English, especially reading skills in a real life, non-test format.


Picnic / Restaurant 

There are plenty of flat open grassy areas to have a picnic in the Han River Park around Ttukseom Resort Station.  With a picnic blanket, food and beverages from home, one can easily set up a wonderful outing.  While it is possible to get some low key games going, don't expect to be able to easily set up a game of wiffle ball due to the fact the park can get crowded at times.  Also, the planted trees can easily get in the way of a regulation sized wiffle ball field.

For those of you who need some refreshments during your outing, there are quite a few options.

Convenience Stores

All throughout the Han River Park next to Ttukseom Resort Station, there are a plethora of Ministop Convenience Stores.  These shops provided all the regular items commonly found in a convenience stores.  At little ways east of the subway station, one Ministop was advertising fried chicken.  The prices are not extremely expensive but are a bit above normal (see: Supply & Demand).

The J-Bug

Just off to the side of Exit #3 of Ttukseom Resort Exit, there is a peculiar / futuristic / advant-garde / SciFi looking building that is completely above ground.  If you are looking to escape the sun (or rain), the J-Bug is a good place to go in and relax.  Inside is a small art exhibit along with a (surprisingly) very reasonable priced coffee shop.

From The Han River Scavenger Hunt

Restaurants

North of the highway next to Exit #1 of Ttukseom Resort Station, there is a street that leads north that is lined with your typical restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops.  This is another good option if you want to get inside and cool off (or dry off, depending on the weather).

Delivery

Something that is still a bit of a culture shock to me is the fact that you don't need an address to get delivery.  If you have someone who is good at describing locations and directions in Korean, you can easily get food delivered to your picnic spot in the Han River Park.  It is at times like these when Smart Phones become a blessing to look up the phone number of local restaurants that deliver.



Ttukseom Resort Station provides a great location for people to meet up and go bicycling.  The easy to find and affordable bicycle rental stand really makes it as one of the best meeting spots for a bike ride.  Also, after a pleasant ride there are plenty of good locations to relax and have a picnic.

Note: As a decedent of Irish ancestry, bring suntan lotion.  This place is not known for shade.

Manisan (마니산), Kanghwa Island (강화도) - May 5th, 2012

Located off the west coast of South Korea near the North Korean border, Kanghwa Island is host to a peaceful landscape full of history, relics, temples and not to mention, farms.  Dominating the terrain of the southern part of the island, the mountain Manisan was the location of our hike over the Children's Day Weekend.

Contents

• Meeting Location & Transportation
• Hiking
• Restaurants

Meeting Location & Transportation

There is only one red express bus that travels to base of Manisan.  This bus does starts near downtown Seoul at Sinchon Station (신촌역), but I found that meeting Yeomchang Station (염창역) allows an easy meeting point, especially for people not living in downtown Seoul or near the Hongdae area.  Additionally, Yeomchang Station is an express station for Line #9.


View Manisan Meeting Location in a larger map
Outside of Exit #2, you can see a westbound bus stop in the middle of the street.  From here, you can take the Red Express Bus 3100.  This bus takes a little bit less than two hours to get to the base of Manisan.  This could be long, especially if it is a good day for hiking.

You will need to get off at the second to last stop which is Manisan Entrance (마니산입구).  If you miss this, don't worry.  The last stop, which is the Hwado Kongyong Terminal (화도공용 버스터미널), is only a short distance down the road.

Hiking

Once you get off at the Manisan Entrance (마니산입구) bus stop, all you have to do is turn south and there is the entrance.  Along the way up, there are some convenience stores that sell snacks, water and hiking supplies.  Additionally, there are restaurants in the surrounding areas that you can get some food at.

A few meters up the path is the entrance.  Here you must pay the entrance fee, which is 1,500 Won for adults.  Note: Telling the ticket booth attendant that 'because your Korean speaking skills are like a child you deserve the children's rate' doesn't work.


View Manisan Hiking in a larger map

For your initial hike up (the Green Line), I recommend taking the longer 2.9km hike that veers off to the right a little while after the entrance.  This path will take you along the western spine of Manisan and give you some wonderful views of the Yellow Sea.

From Manisan (마니산)

From Manisan (마니산)

As you continue up, the first, shorter path connect to the longer trail.  From here, you will come across a staircase of 371 stairs that will get you to one of the highest points of Manisan, the Cham-seong-dan Altar (참성단), which has been on top of Manisan for hundreds of years.

It should be noted that you are not allow to consume any food or beverages (other than water) while you are in the altar area.  If you are looking for a place to have a picnic, just a bit farther east, there is a helicopter pad that is ideal for picnics, as long as it is not too windy.

At this point, you need to make a decision to continue hiking eastward or go back down from the direction that you came from.  While the scenery beyond this point is still wonderful and gives you a better view Incheon International Airport, there are a couple of reasons of why you might want to turn back now.

1. The difficulty of hiking increases.  You won't need any special gear, but be prepared to scramble up and down some decently sized rocks. Also, the decent can be a bit steep and slippery at times.


2. Getting back to the bus terminal may be a bit time consuming.  At the east entrance to Manisan, there is a bus stop with three buses that will take you back to the bus terminal to go home.  Since this is a bus stop in the country side, the time between buses can be over an hour.  Luckily, a message board that displays when the next bus will arrive.  If it is going to be awhile, you can sit down and relax at a restaurant nearby while you wait.  Another option is to hail a taxi.  This will cost you about 10,000 Won to get back to the main bus terminal.

If you do decide to continue on (the purple line on the map) you will have a great hike.  This is absolutely my favorite part of the hike.  You will be jumping from bolder to bolder as you continue along the spine of Manisan, but don't worry, there aren't any giant crevasses that will lead to a fatal fall.  Also, a guide rail has been installed for safety.

Along this path, you can look see the Yellow Sea and almost all of Kanghwa Island.  Also, off to the south you can watch planes take off from Incheon Airport.  On a clear day, you will be able to see some of the skyscrapers of the city of Incheon (인천) and look into North Korea.

From Manisan (마니산)

Once you reach the end of the spine, you will be starting you decent (represented by the orange line).  This part can be a bit tricky since it is steep and some of the rocks you will hike across will be quite smooth.  There will also be two path options when going down: The Ridge Path (left) or the Valley Path (right).  Both will lead you to the same spot.

If you take the Ridge Path, you will come across a pavilion that has a powerful mounted binoculars that will help you peer into Incheon.  The Valley Path will take you into some camping grounds.  Just before you arrive at the camping grounds, you can see some Chinese characters that were carved into the rock face hundreds of years ago.

From Manisan (마니산)

Either way, you will end up at the Hamheo Dongcheon (함허동천) bus stop where you can catch three different buses (1, 4 & 41) that will take you back to the main bus terminal.


Restaurants

There are two great restaurants near the entrance to Manisan.

The first is called 'Hometown Spring' (고향의 봄) which is located around the corner from the Manisan Entrance (마니산입구) bus stop.

The other is a Dwen Jang Bibimbap restaurant (편가네돤장), just down the road from the Hwado Kongyong Bus Terminal (화도공용 버스터미널).


View Manisan Restaurants in a larger map

To get to Hometown Spring, turn right when you get off the bus at Manisan Entrance.  From there, walk east down the road until you get to the end of all the regular restaurants lining the streets.  Here, you will see a wooden sign with Korean letters for the restaurant (고향의 봄).  Turn left onto the small road and quickly turn left into a small parking lot.  This will be the entrance to the restaurant.  When we went there, it looked closed since there was nobody eating outside at the time.  But after walking into the orange building, we found the main restaurant and had a wonderful meal.

From Manisan (마니산)

The other place is a Dwen Jang Bibimbap restaurant just north of the main bus terminal, behind a small hill.  While there are buses that go that way, the likelihood of not having to wait for one is small.  It is a short 10-15 minute walk from the bus terminal.  The only downside to that is the road is surrounded by farms and the stench of manure is present, though not overwhelming.

The Dwen Jang Bibimbap there is quite famous since it has won national awards for its recipe.

Both of these places are wonderful and if you are lucky, you might get some complementary country style soft tofu.


Manisan has been a great hike both of the times that I went there.  While it is quite a bit out of the way, it does offer some very interesting things to see.  Also, if you plan to make a trip to Kanghwa Island for a few days, there are plenty of other things to do on the island.