A few weeks ago we hiked to Seokbulsa, a temple famous for its grandiose statues. Along the way we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, crisp air, good company from our friends Pascale and Eric, and even a couple games of Jokju halfway up mountain.
As we attempted to find the temple, which is not an easy task with the complexity of trails and lack of English on Geumjeongsan, we delightfully stumbled upon a group of locals playing Jokju. The game is like a mix between volleyball and soccer with a cup of makgeolli between each round. We were quickly invited to join in. Even more quickly we learned these elders were fierce competition.
After being humbled by our new friends we continued on our goal to find the temple. With a little help from several other hikers and a bit of backtracking, we were nearing our destination
Here's a view of Busan from the summit.
What makes Seokbulsa so special is that it is not a temple made of stone placed on top of a mountain (which we have had a pleasure visiting on several different occasions). Instead, the temple is the mountain. Enormous buddhist figures are carved into stone walls over 100 feet tall. It truly was an astonishing and worthwhile trip.
This is one of many hikes around Busan. We are so lucky to be living in a city that is surrounded by mountains and beautiful hikes every direction we turn.
-Jestine and Bobby
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