Seonunsa

Seonunsa, or Seonun Temple, is a 1,000-year-old historic temple located in Mount Seonun Provincial Park. The name Seonun means zen mediation in the clouds.

The temple, called one of the most beautiful temples in Korea, is surrounded by scenic beauty with camellia, maple trees and many interesting rocks and unique stones.

The historic temple was founded in 577 during the Baekje Kingdom era. Mater Kumdan used to teach locals on traditional salt and paper making as well as Buddhism in order for them to make earnings.

Villagers named a nearby village Kumdan-ri after the master’s name and offered their salt to the temple to pay their respects. The tradition still continues even today.

With the zen lifestyle and vegetarian diet of Buddhist monks gaining popularity recently, Seonunsa also offers a temple-stay program both for Koreans and expats.

The temple, especially, is best known for its comfort and cozy surroundings, enabling visitors to escape from their busy city lives and to relax their mind and body.

More information on the temple-stay program can be found at www.seonunsa.org

Dolmen remains

Gochang Dolmen Park, which is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has more dolmens per square kilometer than anywhere in the world.

The tombs are generally located on level ground by the river, hills, the foot of mountains and hilltops. In 2000, the government built the park and museum to preserve the site.

According to the county, Gochang is the only place in the world where many differently shaped dolmens are scattered across the region.

The site offers ideas on ancient Koreans’ life and funeral culture and helps better understand today’s basic physics, mechanics and construction.

At the museum, visitors can see how ancient people carried the giant dolmens with special sounds and lighting, adding reality to the scene.

France’s Michelin Green Guides also gave the best listing with three stars to the dolmen museum, calling the site “interesting.”

For more information, visit the website at www.gcdolmen.go.kr

Pansori

Gochang is also the birthplace of Shin Jae-hyo, a noted composer of pansori. You can learn about his work and the traditional Korean narrative song at the Gochang Pansori Museum.

Pansori, a traditional form of narrative music performed by a solo singer, was added to UNESCO’s world heritage list in 2003.

The museum was built on Shin’s former residence in Gochang in 2001 for the purpose of maintaining and developing the pansori tradition and commemorating other performers.

The county was the breeding place of pansori theory and education in the 1850s, with Shin’s residence playing the most prominent role. Shin compiled and recorded all the pansori epic chants that remained at the time.