Haeinsa Temple & Tongyeong

Surprise! The Laubers visited another temple. We come by it honestly, as Korea is riddled with them. And really, they're pretty neat.

Soon after we moved to Korea, Andrew learned of Haeinsa Temple, one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea. Haeinsa has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located on Gaya Mountain in Hapcheon, one county west of Changnyeong. The temple is best known for its complete copy of the Buddhist scriptures, the Tripitaka Koreana. 

Some history...

Tradition says that Haeinsa Temple was settled in 802 by two monks, Suneung and Ijung, who had just returned from China. The name, meaning "Reflections on a Smooth Sea," derives from a Buddhist sutra that compares the Buddha's wisdom to a calm sea. Soon after the two returned, the temple was built by a grateful King Aejang after the monks healed his wife. According to legend, the monks tied one end of string to the queen's tumor and the other end to a tree, chanting Buddhist verses. The tumor vanished as the tree withered and died. 

Hundreds of years later, 13th-century Korea was at war with the Mongols. The Korean government commissioned a copy of the Buddhist scriptures in hopes of earning the Buddha's intervention in the war. The resulting Tripitaka Koreana is considered the best copy of the scriptures in Asia. According to tradition, the woodblocks were made of white birch first soaked and then boiled in sea water for three years, then dried for three years in the shade. 

In 1817, Haeinsa suffered a devastating fire, in which nearly all the wooden temple buildings were destroyed. Only the Tripitaka library at the rear of the complex, built in 1488, escaped damage. The main worship hall was rebuilt in 1818 on the foundations of the one build a thousand years earlier by Haeinsa's two original monks. 

The entrance gate:

The main worship hall, Daejeokkwangjeon (Hall of Great Silence and Light):

A colorful prayer labyrinth:

Three-story Stone Pagoda, Birotap. Pagodas were originally designed as depositories of Buddhist relics includings sutras and images of the Buddha. This one enshrines statues of the Buddha.

In front of the pagoda stood a stone lantern, which symbolize the peaceful light of Buddha. They are built on the grounds inside the temple compound to provide light to the entire monastery. The technique and overall style of the lantern indicates that it was created at the same time as Birocap mentioned above.  

We were visiting at a time when monks were in the middle of afternoon prayers. It was a peaceful moment away from the hustle and bustle of tourists in the main complex. 

This type of drinking station is found at most temples. Simply fill the cup with water, drink nicely, hang it back up. 

Beautiful details all around

A different view from above of the main courtyard:

The Janggyeong Panjeon, one of the oldest buildings, was constructed specifically for the storage of artifacts. This one was built in the 15th century to preserve woodblocks against deterioration:

Two of the double-sided woodblocks that are part of the Tripitaka. The Tripitaka consists of 52,382,960 classical Chinese characters carved on 81,258 woodblocks in 6,802 volumes. They are displayed on floor-to-ceiling shelves in the Janggyeong Panjeon. 

We're working on getting those knees down.

Haeinsa was a remarkable site. Its history and beauty flanked by lush Korean mountains inspires calmness sought by the two monks centuries ago. 

More recently, Andrew and I attended our first live music event in Korea! We enjoyed attending concerts and listening to live music at any local joint while we were living in the states, so being without has been less than desirable. We first learned of Chris Botti's South Korean performance via Lucia Micarelli, a talented violinist who we know from an HBO show called "Treme". She plays an equally talented musician in the show set after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Lucia's mother is Korean, which made us wonder if she ever toured in Korea. After some quick googling, we learned that she'd be in Tongyeong, Korea, in July, with Chris Botti, a Grammy winning trumpeter and composer.

Tongyeong is a port city located in our province about 90 minutes away. It's famous for a few things, including sweet honey bread, oysters, raw fish, and artistry of many types. Because of the city's devotion to art and culture, construction began on Tongyeong Concert Hall in 2006 and opened its doors in 2013.

Here's a view of the concert hall from our hotel balcony:

The hair definitely works for formal occasions, too:

Ooookay, sure, I'll post another picture of us.

A view from inside the concert hall. A nice woman ushered us to two seats, which ended up being the seats of another couple. Quickly, we were escorted to our actual seats, which happened to be two aisle seats in the front row. Who knew those would be the cheap ones!

Chris Botti, Lucia Micarelli, and the band:

The incredibly talented and energetic Sy Smith and pianist Geoffrey Keezer:

It turns out that being the only two foreigners in the crowd who are seated in the front row will get you noticed by the talent. We received a few head nods and smiles from Chris Botti and his crew. After the encore, Mr. Botti, his guitarist Reggie, and stage manager greeted us, wondering where we were from and thanking us for making it to the show. This was one of the best concerts that I've ever attended. The energy of the band, interaction with the crowd, and pure talent did the soul some good.

After the concert, we made our way to a row of restaurants situated along the water. The restaurants specialized in sashimi (raw fish), as the source is close.

Here we have the main dish, mussels, and various side dishes. Of course we ate it all.

Those curls! Another reason I like Andrew's long hair is that it's more difficult to differentiate the locks all over the bathroom floor. 

We've learned that the best restaurants in Asia are usually in tents with plastic furniture.
 

Can't promise this will be the last one...

The next day, Sunday, we took the local bus to Dongpirang Village, a cultural village in Tongyeong. "Dong" means east, and "pirang" means hill. At one time, the town of Tongyeong wanted to demolish this old village and build a park in its place. The locals were asked to leave their houses with little compensation. However, in November 2006, one local organization started a campaign of "even shantytowns can be transformed" and began the work of painting murals on the walls of Dongpirang Village. Eighteen teams ranging from art school students to individual artists gathered to paint the walls. Now, Dongpirang is a tourist destination for those visiting Tongyeong, including us. 

A view from the top of the hill: 

Don't hate the playa...

...hate the game.

A tiger is never too busy for a selfie.

If there's one song that all Korean children know, it's "Let It Go" from "Frozen".

Who are these guys?

Ugh, tourists. 

This stretch of wall reads, "Everything for everybody not only for a few greedy families." 

Can you name the various revolutionaries? 

Our last stop was for this sweet honey bread we'd heard about. Kkulbbang became popular among locals in the 1960s and 1970s, and as word spread, kkulbbang shops appeared and the bread became a signature of Tongyeong. Inside the dough balls is a sweet read bean paste, which is deep-fried then coated with syrup. Most places offer different varieties, including those stuffed with nuts, sweet potato, and some filled with citron.

One more for the road. 

We hope that you're continuing to have an enjoyable summer. August will be an exciting month for us! Our bosses have given us five days of "special vacation" at the beginning of the month, so we've planned a trip to Japan, where we'll spend time in Osaka and Kyoto. Stay tuned for details on our two week summer vacation at the end of August. 

We miss you all and look forward to our time at home toward the end of the year. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers -- you're in ours!