I’d been looking for stuff to do in Busan that didn’t involve Beaches or Department Stores. I had found a number of “Top 10 things to do in Busan” that tended to include the same stuff as the other first 20 google search results, until a picture caugth my eye.

Seokbulsa Temple. A temple which isn’t so much on a mountain as much as it’s carved out of the mountain. Getting there is a little bit of an adventure, although not impossible. It’s just tricky enough and far enough up the mountain that it keeps the crowds away.

After scouring blog after blog, I couldn’t find clear enough instructions of how to actually get there. Feeling the ones posted here seemed to be the most descriptive when it came to which bush to turn right at, I decided I’d give it a try at least. Getting there will just have to be part of the fun.

Walking out of Oncheonjang Station, with little confidence in what I was actually looking for besides a cable car lift (should be easy enough, right?), I immediately started walking through the inclined alleyways towards the mountain.

After the cable car ride (which I highly recommend seeing as it’s 4000W and get’s you an amazing view of Busan) you essentially step off into into a wooded area.

“Okay, where are the instructions,  head towards the south gate, look for a 4-way trail intersection…. follow the yellow brick road, right…”

Seeing how confidentially all the Koreans were hiking by, and how lost every foreigner looked only sharpened my determination to find this place and to get to the top of this mountain. There were English signs pointing to the south gate, but they seemed to point in odd conflicting directions as the trails would splinter off but then come back together, adding to the confusion. It didn’t help that I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for either.

After second guessing what 4-way trail intersection I was looking for for the third time. A British guy and I, both recognizing the same lost, questioning look on our faces, spoke up: “Seokbulsa?…”   “ha, ya, Seokbulsa.”

As it turned out, we’d both been following the same blogs instructions as they were the best we could find, and we’d both had half halfheartedly followed them and figured we’d do our best. Deciding that it was the intersection we were looking for, we were off.

After continuing down the hill for a while, and questioning one or two more splits in the “path”, we came up on Nammam Village (Written in Hangul though). This was good, the pictures on the blog were matching with what was in front of us.

It’s an incredibly scenic route, taking you through the forest and over streams in front of small water falls. Continuing down, the crowds began to thin out, and we arrived at the bottom of the path, only to be faced with the climb back up one of the steepest road’s I have ever seen. The corrugated road gave us a good grip hiking up, but did little to help the few cars we saw. The incline left the drivers with the only choice but to get out and hike it with the rest of us, amidst the smell of their burned clutch and warmed tires.

Hiking up the road you come up on a rock face with Hangul writing stretching out of the vegetation that covers it. 5 minutes longer, and the Temple is there.

Getting to the top, the burning in your legs is instantly pushed aside by the views both in and surrounding the Temple. The smell of incense picks up in your nose, a bird flies by, a monk chants in the background, and you instantly forget about the fact you’re surrounded by the country’s second largest city.

I could write an entire other post purely on the temple it’s self, but I’ll let the pictures speak for them selves. The journey to get up there is surely part of the experience of getting there and leaves you with a sense of accomplishment second only to views as you walk through the temple.

The instructions may seem unclear, but once you’re actually on the paths, the puzzle pieces start to fall in place and it begins to make sense. You can also take the roads from Mandeok Station (which is how I got down) but it was a long enough hike down that I couldn’t imagine slugging it up hill that far. Not to mention it isn’t nearly as nice a walk.

If you’re in Busan for a few days, I can’t recommend it enough. I was there on the weekend of Buddha’s Birthday, which saw every other temple packed with people, but this temple had us as the only people there for a good portion of our visit. If you’re looking for some peace amongst the city, this is the place to go.

You can see all of the pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/133082294@N08/E2n6p6

But here is a set you can see them below.