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I have been wanting to visit the temple because it is one of the most photographed temples in Korea. I would have to say that Haeinsa Temple is probably the only temple photographed more than Songgwangsa. Considering how popular the temple is for photographers it is actually located in quite an isolated area. Along the way to the temple there is an impressively large river bed that can be seen:

During the monsoon season I bet this river is quite a sight to see when it is flooding. Something else that can be seen on the way to Songgwangsa is Juarm Lake::

From Juarm Lake there is a turn off to the temple. The parking area has all the typical Korean shops that sell trinkets and simple food items to visitors before they head off on the walk to the temple:

The walk to the temple is about half a mile through the heavily forested and rugged mountains of Jogyesan Provincial Park:

Here is a map of the park:

The trees that cover the mountains around the temple are not very large so it may be regrowth from the Korean War era for all I know. Never the less the scenery is still quite beautiful:

It is an easy walk to Songgwangsa which I found to be one of the larger temple complexes I have visited in Korea once I got there:

Here is the first gate that I passed through on the path to Songgwangsa:

Eventually the trail comes to the entrance to the temple. The picture below of the pavilion and the bridge across the creek is probably the photograph most commonly taken by photographers that visit this temple:

The day I visited the temple it was very overcast with poor light conditions so I didn’t see anyone with serious camera equipment trying to take any pictures of the temple. From the creek I walked across the pavilion bridge and into the temple. Here is the view from the bridge looking back at the building along the creek:

Over the years this temple has been destroyed and rebuilt many times with the most recent occurrence happening during the Korean War when the entire temple was burnt to the ground. However, the temple has since been nicely reconstructed and features a number of beautiful buildings and gates:

Here is some calligraphy I saw carved on a stone outcropping which I have no idea how old it is or what it says, but it is one of the few things at the temple that not even fire can destroy:

According to information provided by the temple, Songgwangsa would founded 1200 years ago during the late Shilla period as Kilsang-sa Temple. During the Koryo period in 1197 the temple was expanded as a major center of the Chogye traditon of Korean Buddhism. At this time the temple was renamed Suson-sa Temple. It was a few centuries later before the temple was renamed once again to its current name, Songgwang-sa Temple which means “Spreading Pines Temple”. Of the three Buddhist jewels: the Buddha, his teachings, and his disciples; Songgwang-sa represents the third because of its great tradition of training Buddhist masters. The monastery has produced a total of 16 national masters and many other great monks for the Chogye order. In 1969 the temple was designated the primary training ground for the Jogye order.

The main hall of worship at Songgwangsa is very similar to other main halls in Korea with it being a medium sized building with elaborate artwork on the exterior:

There is a large courtyard in front of the building:

Here is a closeup of the bright artwork that covers the edges of the exterior of the building:

Just like the other major Buddhist temples in Korea the main hall had a number of brightly colored pieces of religious artwork for visitors to see:

The only piece of artwork I recognized was this one featuring the Korean folk hero, the monk Wonhyo:

Wonhyo in 661 was traveling to China with a friend where they hoped to study Buddhism further. Somewhere in the Baekje region the two friends took shelter in cave when a heavy rain storm struck. During the night Wonhyo became thirsty but in the dark he could not see. So he felt around until he found something he believed to be a cup and drank some water from it. In the morning Wonhyo discovered that the cave was actually a cemetery littered with bones and the cup he drank from was actually a skull. Wonhyo took this experience to be a source of enlightenment because he was impressed by how the human mind is able to transform the reality of the cemetery into a comfortable haven.

The other pieces of art I saw I did not recognize which Buddhist story they represented:

Inside the main hall there was this golden Buddha that was accompanied to his left and right by two other statues that appeared to represent some important monks:

Perhaps if David Mason is reading this he can explain what the various paintings mean and who the statues around the Buddha are?

Below is the view from the main hall looking across the courtyard towards the mountains:

Many temples in Korea you really do not see many monks walking around, however the day I visited Songgwangsa I saw monks walking around quite frequently:

Since this temple is focused heavily on training, the monks I saw walking around appeared to be trainees marching in formation almost as if they were in the military:

This gate led to the living quarters for the Buddhist monks which was off limits to visitors:

For people that want to try and get a taste of what it is like to be a monk, there are temple stay programs available at the various Korean Buddhist temples to include Songgwangsa. This is actually something that has been gaining in popularity in recent years.

Outside some of the temple’s buildings some of these brightly colored flowers could be seen growing:

On the perimeter of the temple I spotted these two small buildings which I think may be shrines of some sort?:

Here are a few more pictures from the temple:

There is plenty of other buildings to see at the temple, but all in all Songgwangsa really doesn’t have anything other than the scenic bridge entrance to the temple that makes it stand apart from other temples in Korea. I didn’t have time to hike in the mountains around the park but they look like some place that would be nice to explore for those who have the time. All in all though I don’t think it is worth taking a trip solely to check out this temple from a place as distant as Seoul. I recommend a trip to the temple in conjunction with visiting either the nearby cities of Suncheon and Yeosu or even a visit to the green tea plantations in Boseong. Those interested in doing the temple stay program though may actually enjoy doing an extended stay at the temple.  For me getting up early, meditating, and eating simple food isn’t my idea of fun, but walking around old dusty temples and hiking beautiful mountains is my idea of fun which is something that can definitely be enjoyed at Songgwangsa.

Finally here is a video put together by Heritage of Korea that shows some nice views of the temple:

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This area is a large wetland that has been protected by the Korean government by being turned into an ecological park:

The buildings at the entrance to the park appeared to be of new construction and house a visitor center and a number of other exhibits like an observatory that visitors should find of interest:

The visitor center provides some very detailed displays about the ecological importance of the Suncheon Bay wetlands to migratory birds and other wildlife in the region:

Brian Deutsch had a nice write up about the park in the Korea Times:

“What must be protected must be protected, but it would be even better if wetlands are utilized as eco-tourism sites because that could result in not only their protection but also the revitalization of the local economy,” Lee said.

Suncheon Bay is one such site and to promote this goal Suncheon city recently declared itself the Ecological Capital of South Korea. The bay and city pride itself on hosting a large variety of migratory bird species, and a 2006 release from Ramsar said there were at least 25 threatened bird species among them. The festival’s namesake the hooded crane is especially beloved, and practically every exhibit of the Eco-Museum is devoted to it. Classified as a vulnerable species there are roughly 10,000 left in the world, and its numbers are being further reduced by the constant reclamation and development of wetlands in South Korea and China.

However, very few of these birds actually spend time Suncheon, as an estimated 80 percent in 2005-2006 wintered in southern Japan, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Ironically for a place big on conservation, placards throughout the reed fields point out the animals of significance, while mothers and fathers let their children know which ones are good to eat.

The visitor center had stuff animals of the various birds that call this wetland home at some point during their migratory travels:

By the way I saw one bird, a crane during my visit to the park and it flew away from me too fast for me to take a picture of it unfortunately.

After checking out the visitor center we began to walk down the trail that takes visitors deep into the wetlands of the park.  While driving to Suncheon Bay as well as walking down the trail it was quite evident what a productive agricultural area surrounds Suncheon Bay.  It seems like every acre of land that isn’t part of the park is a rice paddy of some sort:

The trail eventually leaves the rice paddies and goes through a small bit of marsh land:

After crossing through the marsh the trail then crosses over the Mijin Bridge where boats offer visitors tours up the river:

Once across the bridge the trail turns into a wooden plank boardwalk that takes visitors deep into this large field of reeds:

When the tide is low little creatures can be seen scuttling about all over place in the mud below the wooden plank walkway:

Looking back towards the visitor center I could see Mujin Bridge that crosses the river and into the field of reeds:

We enjoyed our time walking through the reed field and soon Yongsan Mountain came into view where the trail continues up it to a look out:

Since my wife and I visited Suncheon Bay with her mom and dad they were not up to hiking all the way up the hill that provides a bird’s eye view of the wetlands.  My wife and I will have to come back here some day to do that.  Anyway here is what the view from the view look out looks like for those who make it up there:

This place is really beautiful and I would think professional and even amateur photographers would find this place to be a joy to take pictures of considering its scenic beauty.

The Yeosu Expo will provide an opportunity to enhance the international community’s perception of the function and value of the ocean and coast, share knowledge on the proper use of the ocean and coast and recognize the need for cooperation in the marine sector. It will also serve as a venue to learn about the achievements of and future models for the marine sector and offer a valuable chance to promote state-of-the-art marine science and technology and marine industries.

As with any international event that has been held in Korea the local government spares no expense in regards to building the best facilities possible and Yeosu is no exception.  As I was driving into Yeosu the infrastructure construction could be seen going on all around the area.  Just like the local infrastructure the site where the Expo will held is undergoing massive construction as well:

I actually didn’t come to see the Expo site, but rather to go check out Odong-do Island which is part of the Hallyohaesang National Park:

I had heard that this was supposed to be a beautiful island and something everyone visits when in Yeosu.  The island is connected to the mainland where the Expo is being held by a long causeway.  As my wife and I walked from the Expo site towards the causeway we noticed a number of ajummas out collecting seafood along the shore line:

Odong-do is actually promoted by the city of Yeosu as having woman divers much like the Haenyo of Cheju-do.  However, we did not see any women divers during our visit and just a few old ajummas like the one pictured above working had to recover whatever she can along the shore.

The causeway to Odong-do was actually a pretty long walk but here is the view from the other side looking towards the Expo 2012 construction site:

The walking paths around the island were quite well done with wooden floorboards composing much of  the trail:

From the main the main trail there was a number of excursions such as this staircase that went down to the shore to access a sea cave:

Like much of the landscape in this area of Korea there are few beaches and a lot of rocky cliffs that compose the shore line:

After doing a bit of rock scrambling on the shore line I was able to see the sea cave come into view:

This cave is supposed to have been home to a dragon but considering how small the cave was once I hiked over to it, it had to have been one small dragon:

Here is the view from the cave looking back towards a lighthouse that caps the island:

From the cave we decided to walk on over to the lighthouse.  So we walked back up the stairs to access the main trail again and then headed towards the lighthouse which took us through this path lined with bamboo:

After a short walk the lighthouse came into view:

At the lighthouse there is an elevator that takes visitor to an observation platform that provides some really good views of the island and the surrounding area.  Here is a couple of views looking back towards Yeosu:

Here is a view looking out to sea:

Right below the lighthouse was some housing for Coast Guard personnel who are responsible for upkeeping the lighthouse:

From the lighthouse we then walked down to a large park area along the shore line of the island.  The park had a fountain that danced to music that was playing:

Since Yeosu is one of the old stomping grounds of the great Yi Sunshin there was a display of a “Turtle Boat” for visitors to check out:

From the park we then walked back across the causeway and called it a day.  All in all Odong-do really isn’t all that interesting.  It has a nice wooded trail and spectacular views from the lighthouse, but really nothing else of interest.  I kind of thought of it as the poor man’s Oedo Island.  If in Yeosu it is worth checking out Odong-do, but don’t expect to get blown away by anything you see there.

These are pictures of some sashimi and other seafood my wife and I ordered at this restaurant in Yeosu which was down the road from The Ocean Resort:

The restaurant was right on the water with a dock with fishing boats pulled up along side it.  So the fish here is very fresh and it definitely tasted that way.  This is one of the favorite things I like to do when visiting Korea, which is to eat fresh seafood.

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Along with infrastructure a large hotel known as The Ocean Resort was constructed to provide modern western style accommodations for the global visitors coming to Yeosu for the Expo 2012.  The Ocean Resort is located to the far southwest of the city and is actually quite a distance from where the Expo is going to be held:

My wife and I decided to stay at The Ocean Resort since she was able to get a pretty steep discount on a suite through family connections.  When we visited the hotel from the outside it actually did look quite nice:

I was however expecting more people at the hotel, but we were able to get a prime parking spot at the very front of the hotel with no issues.  Despite parking spots being readily available near the very front of the hotel there was still some black Chairman style cars parked in the roadway in the very front of the hotel despite signs saying drop off only.

Anyway after parking we went inside the hotel and it was quite nice as well.  However, it felt like a ghost hotel due to the lack visitors staying there.  This is a huge hotel and the lobby was empty except for one person working the front desk:

Curiously for a hotel targeted towards an international clientele, the front desk person spoke no English and had no printed English maps of the hotel to hand out.  This wasn’t an issue for me, but I would think by the time the Expo comes they may want to provide some information in other popular languages like English, Japanese, & French.

From the front desk we went up to our hotel room and I took this picture looking down at the front of the hotel where the black Chairman cars were parked:

Since hardly anyone was staying at the hotel the front desk made sure to give us a suite with an ocean front view.  The Ocean Resort definitely has some sweeping ocean views.  Here is the view looking southwest over the hotel’s outdoor water park:

Here is the view looking towards the east across the bay and the many small islands just off the coast of Yeosu:

From the hotel this yacht could be seen at anchor and we would later learn that this yacht is available for rental for those who want to sail around the Hallyeosudo Marine National Park that surrounds the city:

Here is the view looking south directly into the maritime park:

Here is the view from our hotel room the following morning as the sun was rising:

The ocean views from this hotel have to be one of the best from any hotel in all of Korea.  Besides the view the room was quite nice as well.  It had three bedrooms which two had standard Korean style beds:

The suite had two bathrooms which were quite nice:

The living room had a flat screen TV with many cable channels to include international channels such as CNN, BBC, and NHK:

Here is a picture of the kitchen which also had a small dining table:

So overall we were quite impressed with the suite we were staying in especially considering we were paying about a $100 a night for such a large suite.

Besides being a modern western style hotel, The Ocean Resort is also well known in Yeosu for its water park.  The hotel has both a indoor and outdoor water park.  However, when we visited the hotel the outdoor water park was closed for maintenance reasons but the indoor water park was open for business.  Even though we were staying at the hotel we still had to pay to use the water park.  After paying the entry fee of about $25 we were both given wrist bands that provided access to the respective men’s and women’s locker rooms.  In the locker room the lockers are unlocked by pushing the wristband against the lock:

Inside the locker valuables are secured and what I found really nice was that I did not need to carry any cash on me.  The various stores, restaurants, and cafes inside the water park are able to charge what you buy to your wristband.  So when you leave you pay for what you purchased at the exit or charge it to your room.  I thought this was a really innovative way to run a water park.

Inside the water park had a food court with a number of restaurants to include of course a Lotteria:

Like the rest of the hotel the food court was a ghost town:

There was a few people in the water park though.  I estimate there was about 20 people at the time I visited:

There actually seemed to be almost as many lifeguards as there was visitors.  This has to be the safest water park in the world just based on the amount of lifeguards hovering around every pool.  The indoor water park is actually quite well done with a wave pool, a really high and fast water slide, various pools, hot tubs, and even an area where you lie on a raft that takes you through a cave.  It was actually quite a bit of fun if you are visiting with kids because this water park is definitely family oriented.  If you are a group of young expats or GI’s looking for something fun to do this probably isn’t what you are looking for.

Overall I would sum up our stay at The Ocean Resort as being a very good one considering the great room we had and the fun we had at the water park.  The hotel though is quite a distance from the rest of Yeosu, but not a big deal if you have a car.  It was strange though to stay in such a large hotel with hardly anyone else staying in it.  I’m sure this will probably change with next year’s Expo 2012, but I do have to wonder if this hotel will be viable over the long run?  I just don’t see how this hotel can survive without attracting more guests to stay in it? I guess time will tell.

The road that branches off of Highway 37 to the trailhead leads to the small hamlet of Mail-ri (마일리).  The road is paved the entire way and passes this large church that was built using Korean traditional architecture:

If you see this church you know you are heading in the right direction.  The drive through this thickly forested valley is actually quite nice and ends at Mail-ri.  There isn’t much to this village other than a few old farm houses like the one pictured below:

There is one person that has themselves a pretty nice house in this hamlet though:

The trailhead for the hike up Yeoninsan is actually quite easy to identify due to the large parking lot that has this huge sign showing the trails up the surrounding mountains:

Note that at the parking lot there is a guy who charges people 3,000 won to park there.  He was a nice enough guy and very eager to show me the route up the mountain on the sign.  He did caution me about the rain, which as everyone knows is always an issue during monsoon season in Korea.  During the drive to the trailhead I experienced off and on rain, but I was prepared to deal with it if it happened during my hike.  I had a light rain jacket, a poncho, waterproof socks, and a waterproof backpack .

Once I was ready to start my hike the weather wasn’t looking too bad judging by this view from the parking lot towards the slopes of the mountain:

Here is a topographical map that shows the trail up to the summit of Yeoninsan from Mail-ri:

At 1,068 meters Yeoninsan is actually a pretty high peak for being in Gyeongi-do, but its remoteness I think is just as impressive as its height.  Its remoteness was quite evident because my car was the only vehicle in the parking lot, which meant I ended up being the only person on the trail that day.  The trailhead is located adjacent to the parking lot and easily spotted by this sign pointing in the direction of Yeoninsan:

There is actually two different routes to access the mountain and I decided to take the shorter 5 kilometer route.  The trail actually starts as a small one lane dirt road that provides access to a few more of the homes located in this little village:

After walking past the homes and their adjacent farm fields the trail turns into this:

Due to all the rain the trail was a flowing creek.  Not wanting to break through brush, I just went ahead and hiked up the creek.  I was quite happy I wore my waterproof socks.  There was some areas of the trail that weren’t a flowing creek that made hiking a bit easier:

I was pretty high up on the mountain now when I came across this farm field:

Whoever owned this farm field undoubtedly received some pretty good exercise every day hiking up here to work the land. Just past the farm field I reached the ridgeline of the mountain range that would take me up to the summit of Yeoninsan.  The view was quite nice from the summit:

From the ridgeline here is the view looking down the trail I came up:

At the top of the ridgeline I reached this clearing where I saw that a four-wheel drive road had been built to access this area:

By following the four-wheel drive road it leads to the longer route up to Yeoninsan, but since I was taking the shorter route I followed a trail that led north along the ridgeline:

To the east of the ridgeline was just a large bowl of a valley that was filled with pine trees:

It was actually pretty impressive how thickly forested this valley was:

Besides the trees I also saw plenty of wild flowers growing along the trail that provided quite a contrast in color compared to all the greenery I was surrounded by:

As I continued along the ridgeline it was actually pretty hard to get any views of anything other than trees due to the thick foliage that surrounded the trail:

Most of the way I could not see the summit of Yeoninsan due to the trees and clouds until for a brief moment the clouds parted and I got this view of the peak through this break in the trees:

I continued on down the trail towards the summit it began to rain heavily as the trail was engulfed in clouds.  Just below the summit of the mountain I was able to take this picture of the surrounding mountains before I got engulfed in rain:

There was nothing to see on the summit itself as it was raining heavily and I was eager to go ahead and get off the mountain.  So I turned around a walked as fast as I could down the mountain.  Despite the rain I was able to walk the 5 kilometers back down the mountain in about an hour.  Going up the mountain at a leisurely pace had taken me about two hours so I made really good time going down.  On my way walking back to the parking lot I actually ran into a group of about 8 people that were walking up the mountain despite the rain.  If it was raining like this when I arrived at the parking lot I wouldn’t have even bothered to start the hike, but they appeared pretty well equipped for the rain so hopefully they enjoyed their hike.

Anyway it was a good walk up the mountain despite being absolutely soaked.  I will likely try and hike this mountain again sometime using the longer route on a day with better weather.  It is a bit of drive to reach the trailhead, but if you are really into hiking and are looking for a remote and scenic mountain to check out that isn’t too far from Seoul, this is the place.

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However all this would change in 1950 when it became a pivotal battlefield during the Korean War.  The terrain around Uijongbu provided the last natural defensive positions before the North Korean army could reach Seoul.  After the ROK Army forces lost the Battle of Uijongbu the gates to Seoul were open and the city would eventually fall only days after the North Korean invasion.  Below is a picture of Uijongbu in 1950:

In the picture you can see Highway 3 which is the north-south highway running in the center of the picture and Highway43 which is on the right of the picture that is a northeast-southwest running highway.  These two highways converge in Uijongbu and are the two routes the North Koreans used to capture the city during the Korean War.  Here is a picture that shows the devastation that happened in Uijongbu during war:

If you look closely in the below picture you can see the slopes of Dobong-san mountain in the background:

After the war the city became known as a US military camp town called a “gijichon” in Korea when a large contingent of US soldiers were stationed in the city after the Korean War.  Even though the town is host to US soldiers today, I don’t think anyone can claim with a straight face that Uijongbu is still a camp town considering its explosive growth that has made the city a thriving metropolitan center for Korea’s northern Gyeongi-do province.  Here is a modern day Google Earth image of Uijongbu that shows how much it has grown as well as identifying various places I will mention in the rest of this posting:

These following photographs should give everyone an indication of the explosive growth of this town.  This below picture is taken from Cheonbo-san mountain that shows the US military base Camp Kyle in the foreground and Uijongbu in the distance tucked into the slopes of beautiful Dobong-san mountain in 1965:

Picture via Ottmar.

Notice how Camp Kyle is on the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by farm land.  I have had people in Korea now a days ask me why the US military built their bases within Korean cities?  However what these people don’t understand is the bases were originally built outside of the Korean cities, but Korea’s explosive growth over the past few decades has completely swallowed these bases.

Here is a picture I took from the same vantage point back in 2005 that shows how Camp Kyle has been completely surrounded by the city:

Camp Kyle’s front gate at this time was very dangerous because you had large slow moving military trucks trying to turn on to a fast moving highway 43 that saw heavy traffic.  So it should be no surprise that Camp Kyle was one of the US military bases in Uijongbu that was shutdown in 2005.

Here is a picture from the same vantage point in 2011:

In the picture it can be seen that Camp Kyle has been completely leveled as the land is prepared for redevelopment. Here is how Camp Kyle looked when it was still open in 2005:

Camp Kyle isn’t the only place being redeveloped, just down the road from Camp Kyle is Camp Sears which was also closed out in 2005.  Here is how the camp looked when it was open in 2005:

Here is how it looks in 2011 after being leveled for redevelopment:

If you look closely in the earlier 2011 picture of Uijongbu you can see that the old Camp Essayons has been leveled as well in order to construct a university hospital.  Here is what the camp looked like back in 2005 when it was open:

Another USFK base Camp La Guardia has also been leveled and can be seen in the center of the below photograph also when it was open in 2005:

Camp La Guardia was really a base that needed to be closed because it was an old airfield that had been completely surrounded by the growing Uijongbu.  Not all the camps in Uijongbu have been closed though.  Below is a picture of Camp Red Cloud that can be seen lying at the slopes of the hills to the west of town:

Camp Stanley is the other US military base still open in Uijongbu that lies right next to the Uijongbu Prison that is the building pictured below with the blue roof:

You can read more about these closed US military camps at this prior ROK Drop posting:

• ROK Drop Profile: Closed Out US Military Camps in Uijongbu.

The land where these US military camps is located is not the only place in Uijongbu being redeveloped.  In the past 10 years this entire city feels like it has been redeveloped.  The heart of the city is without a doubt the area around the Uijongbu Train Station.  The train station used to be this old brick building that Seoul Subway Line 1 ended and passengers could transfer to the KORAIL train system to travel to locations north of Uijongbu.

Below is a picture of this location at night where Uijongbu Station is infamous to GI’s as being a place where many of the cab drivers will try to charge you hugely overpriced fees to bring you back to you camp, especially when 2ID had a curfew because they knew soldiers had no choice, but to pay the extortion:

Today commuters don’t need to change on to the KORAIL line at Uijongbu Station since Seoul Subway Line 1 has been extended all the way to Dongducheon.  Additionally the station has been torn down and being redeveloped into a massive shopping center/train station:

Here is another view of the redevelopment going on around the train station:

In addition to the train station the entire downtown area is being redeveloped as well.  Here is a picture of downtown directly across from the east side of the train station:

The entire area has seen a number of new buildings go up that has really added to the city’s skyline:

Further into downtown away from the new buildings around the train station, the older Uijongbu of older buildings, street ajummas selling goods, crazy traffic, oblivious pedestrians, the blackmarket area, etc. can still be seen:

Here are a few pictures of the area of downtown Uijongbu to the west of the train station that was taken back in 2005.  The first picture is of a wedding hall:

Just for comparison’s sake here is what a wedding hall in Uijongbu looked like in 1965:

Picture via Ottmar.

Here is the main thoroughfare in this part of town in 2005 looking east towards Uijongbu Station:

Here is the view looking west towards the city hall complex at the end of the road, which by the way is a really nice structure:

I thought the big open road and the new construction made this area of Uijongbu look really nice, but in recent years it has been spoiled by the construction of a light rail transit (LRT) system known as the U-Line:

All over Uijongbu the concrete pillars from the U-Line are a major eye sore in my opinion:

The U-Line is supposed to help relieve the major traffic congestion that plagues the city.  The traffic congestion has actually gotten much better in recent years.  I can remember when it took an hour to drive from Camp Stanley to Camp Red Cloud.  Now it can be done in half that time during even peak traffic times.  A long time friend I have in Uijongbu told me he felt the U-Line had less to do with traffic congestion and more to do with being a big public works hand out to the companies involved in its construction.  I guess time will tell how popular the U-Line will be with the locals in Uijongbu.  I think the biggest demographic that will use the U-Line will be students.

Finally here is a view from a hill in the neighborhood of Geumo-dong looking towards downtown Uijongbu:

This picture of downtown Uijongbu 1965 only further shows how much the city has changed since then:

To the northwest of downtown is where Camp Red Cloud pictured earlier in this posting is located.  Behind Camp Red Cloud a newer neighborhood of high rise apartments has been constructed in recent years along with a very nice sports stadium:

Besides the stadium a ice rink was constructed as well:

Across the street in front of Camp Red Cloud is where older buildings remain and is the location of a small ville for US servicemembers stationed at the camp:

You can see the highly controversial Julie’s Realty is located right across the street from CRC.

The previously mentioned neighborhood of Geumo-dong is one of the fastest growing areas of the city.  This is an area of the city that I know very well since I lived in this neighborhood for two years.   Here is a picture of Geumo-dong viewed from the summit of Cheonbo-san mountain:

Here is what Geumo-dong looked like in 1965:

Picture via Ottmar.

I can remember 10 years ago when Geumo-dong still had farms and small businesses and since then it has all been turned into apartments and a major shopping area:

Here is a picture of Geumo-dong’s main shopping district with the city’s only Home Plus at night:

Like much of Uijongbu, Geumo-dong also has a sea of apartments:

For those that have never lived in one of these high rise Korean apartments, they are actually quite nice.  My apartment was a spacious three bedroom and two bathroom apartment on the 14th floor.  I really enjoyed the view from being that high up and occasionally would run up the stairs for PT instead of taking the elevator.  If you are wondering how Koreans move things to the higher floors they don’t use the stairs of elevators, they instead use these lift systems that quickly move furniture and other large items into the apartments:

The Geumo-dong neighborhood is also home to St. Mary’s Hospital:

This facility really is a good hospital with a foreigner friendly staff.  They have an agreement with USFK to provide medical services for US military servicemembers and their families.  The wife of one my soldiers gave birth to their daughter at this hospital.

Like the rest of Uijongbu, Geumo-dong also has some areas affected by the U-Line eyesore:

Overall though the U-Line isn’t as bad as a eyesore in Geumo-dong as it is downtown.  Pictured below in Geumo-dong was one of my favorite places to eat Uijongbu’s most famous dish budaejigae:

Budaejjigae is Korean for “soldier’s stew” due to the spam and other ingredients added to the dish that was introduced to the local Koreans by US GI’s:

The restaurant can be found adjacent to the old Camp Kyle.  My favorite place to grab a drink was a place in Geumo-dong called Beer School:

This place had a wide selection of foreign beer and would actually issue out merit badges and diplomas to repeat customers.  The owners of the establishment were very friendly to GI’s that would stop by here.  Unfortunately when I went to stop by Beer School recently it was closed and was turned into a Chinese restaurant.

In Geumo-dong behind the Northern Gyeongi-do government office is a trail up a hill that provides some nice views of Uijongbu. You can see the hill in the center of this below image I took of the Geumo-dong neighborhood in June 2011:

I used to go run up the trail up this hill for PT occasionally in the morning. Here is a picture of the sunrise from this hill on one of those mornings:

Here is an example of another spectacular sunrise I was able to get a picture of in the morning:

Here are some views of the other areas of Uijongbu once again as viewed from the hill in Geumo-dong.  First is a picture of the southeastern are of Uijongbu, which is where Camp Stanley is located at:

The mountain that towers over this area of the city is Suraksan mountain.  Adjacent to Camp Stanley Suraksan mountain is some very nice streams that are a good place to hang out at in the summer.  This section of the city is one of the most lightly populated areas where rice fields still take up just as much land as houses:

All in front of Camp Stanley are fields of rice that are worked by prisoners from the Uijongbu Prison.  Also just down the road from Camp Stanley is this large Buddhist temple:

Here is a view looking towards the southwest portion of Uijongbu which is backdropped by Dobongsan mountain:

The southwestern portion of Uijongbu is sandwiched between not only Dobongsan, but Suraksan mountain as well:

The stream that runs through this area is a very popular spot for fishing:

I have never tried to go fishing in this stream because I once saw a sewage truck dumping raw waste right into this stream before:

Despite becoming a dense urban city, a nice thing about Uijongbu is how easy it is to escape the city.  All around the city is wilderness areas with Dobongsan mountain which is part of Bukhansan National Park being the primary spot for people to escape the city:

Dobongsan is an extremely scenic mountain with a variety of Buddhist temples, hiking trails, and creeks to play in the water that are popular with locals.

Another popular location for locals is Cheonbosan mountain located adjacent to the Geumo-dong neighborhood:

Cheonbosan is not as tall as Dobongsan, but despite this it provides better views of Uijongbu and the surrounding region than its more well known neighbor across town.

Here is how Cheonbo-san looked in 1965:

Picture via Ottmar.

Notice that in 1965 the lack of trees on the mountain as well as the absence of the twin radio towers.  Another place to escape the city is the mountains behind Camp Read Cloud.  This is another area I used to go running at for PT.  The winding road behind the camp leads to this nice lake where I have seen plenty of locals fishing at:

There are plenty of other hills around the city that I would go hiking at and exploring no matter the weather:

Occasionally I would run into random shrines like this one pictured below:

Or even find something unusual like a deer farm on the city’s outskirts:

All in all I really enjoyed my time living in Uijongbu and always stop by and visit friends in the city whenever I am in Korea.  Every time I visit it is always interesting to see how much the city has changed.  It is definitely no longer a camp town and quickly becoming one of the nicest commuter suburbs of Seoul in my opinion.

If anyone has any stories to share of their time in Uijongbu please share it with everyone in the comments section.

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Note below is a listing of the “Profile” series of postings I have completed about different areas in Korea that I think readers may find of further interest to check out:

• A Profile of the Western Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
• A Profile of USFK’s Western Corridor Camps
• A Profile of USFK Camps In Dongducheon
• A Profile of the TDC Ville
• A Profile of Bosan-dong Ville
• A Profile of Teokgeo-ri
• A Profile of Uijongbu
• A Profile of USFK Camps In Uijongbu
• A Profile of Closed Out USFK Camps In Uijongbu
• A Profile of Camp Red Cloud
• A Profile USFK Camps In Seoul
• A Profile of the Korea Training Center
• A Profile of the Chinese Tunnel
• A Profile of Camp Mujuk
• A Profile of Camp Page

The mountain can also be easily recognizable because of the large graffiti of the 702nd Maintenance Support Battalion crest left by US soldiers many years ago:

Uijongbu is located just north of Seoul and was once a small village that was home to a number of United States Forces Korea (USFK) military bases.  To get better oriented with  the city I recommend reading this prior ROK Drop posting about the city.  Most of these US military bases are closed today with only Camp Red Cloud and Camp Stanley remaining open within Uijongbu and the NCO Academy located at Camp Jackson in Dobong-gu just to the south of the city remaining open as well:

Cheonbo-san is not very high with a max altitude of 336.8 m (1,105 ft).  The trail up the mountain is likewise not very long or steep with a distance of only 2.8 kilometers round trip from the trailhead:

Since Dobongsan is very well known outside of Uijongbu it is very easy for people outside of the city to access the various hiking trails up the mountain via the subway.  Cheonbosan on the other hand is not well known outside of Uijongbu and it is located no where near the subway line.  The best way to reach the trailhead is to first take a taxi to the city’s Home Plus and then follow the directions below:

From Home Plus walk across Highway 43 and then head towards the west passed the old USFK base, Camp Kyle.  After walking by Camp Kyle look for the church pictured below:

After the church on the right there is a narrow road that leads into a residential neighborhood.  While walking up this road besides all the small homes and apartments you will also see a large cultural center building that looks totally out of place in this neighborhood:

The cultural center has a Romanian flag flying in front of it for some reason, but when you see this building you at least know that you are going the correct way:

Continue up the road until it ends atthe Yeonghua-sa Temple gate:

Compared to other temples in Korea there isn’t much to look at here other than to take a minute to enjoy the peaceful solitude of this temple compared to the dense urban city that borders it:

Located right in front of the temple’s entrance is the start to the summit trail:

The hike up to the summit of Cheonbosan is only 1.4 kilometers and is actually something that when I lived in Uijongbu that I would run up for PT occasionally.  The trail is in pretty good shape all the way up the mountain:

What I like the best about hiking up this trail is the strong scent of pine that permeates the air here.  It is a welcome relief from the smog that usual plagues this area of Korea.  The trail runs adjacent to a small creek that on the weekends locals will sometime hang out and have picnics at:

About halfway up the mountain there is a series of four graves who I figure must be for some important people considering how elaborate and well maintained the graves are:

After the graves the trail becomes much steeper, but has some nice rock stairs installed which makes the ascent quite easy:

On the upper reaches of the mountain the trail does become a bit slippery due to loose rocks:

Once the trail reaches the main ridgeline of Cheonbo-san the Sorim-sa Temple comes into view:

Like the prior temple at the base of the mountain there isn’t a whole lot to see here other than this interesting Buddha display on the granite rock:

The trail continues on past the temple and across this open rock face where the first unobstructed views of Uijongbu are available:

From the rock face the trail just continues to follow the ridgeline of the mountain where prior military bunkers and fortifications are still easy to make out along the surface of the mountain:

Since Cheonbo-san is a east-west ridgeline it is a natural military fortification to defend the city of Uijongbu from any North Korean attack.  During the Korean War this ridgeline wasn’t much help though against the North Korean tanks that were decisive in winning the Battle of Uijongbu against the defending ROK Army forces.

Eventually the trail reaches the summit of the mountain, which is capped not only with the twin communications towers, but a newly constructed lookout as well:

A sign that has only Korean writing provides the names of the various terrain features to the north that can be easily seen from the summit:

Unfortunately no views to the opposite side of the mountain are available because of this large control station that blocks the view:

Anyway, this next picture is the view looking towards the west where Highway 3 can be seen at the base of the valley that connects Uijongbu with Dongducheon to the north:

This next picture is looking towards the northwest where the most prominent terrain feature is the scenic Bulgok-san mountain where a major ROK Army base is located at the base of.  The base of the mountain is also where the city of Yangju is located:

Looking directly north the outskirts of Dongducheon as well as the rolling peaks of Soyo-san Mountain are visible in the far distance:

What I found most interesting looking towards the north is the progress made on constructing the major new highway between Uijongbu and Dongducheon.  Anyone that has driven Highway 3 between these two cities understands that a new highway is greatly needed due to the dense traffic.

Here is the view looking slightly towards the northeast where the amount of apartment construction over the past 10 years has just been incredible to those of us who remember this area as rural farm land:

Here is the view looking towards the northeast which shows how the Cheonbo-san ridgeline eventually turns northward towards Dongducheon:

Since views to the south are blocked from the summit of the mountain there is another area on the front side of the mountain that I always go to instead.  By walking along the fence line of the control station, a trail that leads down to this rock outcropping becomes visible:

It takes less than five minutes to walk down from the summit and passed the twin towers to reach this rock outcropping:

From here there are unobstructed views of Uijongbu and Dobong-san mountain that lies to the south of Cheonbo-san:

From the summit it is easy to see the various changes that have happened over the past few years to the various US military bases in Korea.  You can read more about these USFK camps in Uijongbu in this prior ROK Drop posting.  The first change was that Camp Essayons that was closed out in 2005 was completely leveled:

Likewise Camp La Guardia that was closed out in 2005 has been leveled as well.  What remains of the camp can be seen at the top of the above picture where the Uijongbu light rail line has been built over the camp.

This next picture shows that Camp Kyle that was also closed down in 2005 has has met the same fate as the prior two camps:

Here is the view looking directly south from Cheonbo-san where Suraksan can be seen in the distance as well as what remains of yet another USFK military base in Uijongbu:

Camp Sears was closed out in 2005 and has been completely leveled as well:

Right next to Camp Sears is a ROK Army fuel storage yard that long ago used to be part of Camp Sears:

Also visible at the base of the mountain looking towards the south, is the small Geumo-dong neighborhood that lies between Camp Sears and Camp Kyle:

I can remember when over 10 years ago when this neighborhood that extends passed Camp Sears towards St. Mary’s Hospital was the main area of Geumo-dong while the land where all the highrises and apartments are standing today was nothing more than farm houses and rice paddies.

Here is the view looking towards the west:

If you look closely it is possible to make out the gold roof’s of the barracks at Camp Red Cloud:

Camp Red Cloud like I mentioned before is one of the three US military bases remaining in the area of Uijongbu.  One of the other bases is Camp Stanley that can be seen looking directly to the south of Cheonbo-san at the base of Surak-san mountain:

Camp Stanley just like Camp Red Cloud is easy to spot due to the distinctive color of the roof on the various barracks on the camp:

Here is the last picture I took looking towards downtown Uijongbu:

To fully appreciate how much this view of Uijongbu has changed over the years due to the city’s incredible growth, I highly recommend reading this prior ROK Drop posting.  The next time I hike up Cheonbo-san the view will definitely be even further changed once the construction projects on the leveled former US military bases are complete.  For all of us that have served in Uijongbu over the years the changes in the city are incredible and just one of the many signs of the amazing economic development of South Korea.

The temple itself was built in 769 AD making it quite an old temple by Korean standards.  However, like many other temples in Korea this temple was destroyed by fire in 1623 before being rebuilt in 1625.  Since then the temple has been reconstructed a number of other times to include after being destroyed during the Korean War.

The temple does have a nice creek that flows in front of it that visitors to the temple can sit and view from this gazebo:

All in all if in the area Hwaamsa Temple is worth stopping if in the area but I would not recommend going out of your way to visit this temple.  If you have limited time while visiting the Sokcho area I highly recommend visiting Naksan Temple and Baekdam Temple instead.

I didn’t have enough time when I visited the temple to hike up to the top of the rock, but Brian from Gangwon Notes did and he has a nice picture from above of the temple posted over at his site.  The large rock does make the temple quite photogenic, so for those looking for some interesting pictures this may be a good site for you.

When I visited the cave the crowds were typical for such a tourism site in Korea so expect to enjoy this cave if visiting with a large amount of ajushis and ajummas in a tight confined space because the path through the cave is quite small.

It is estimated that this limestone cave started to form 450 million years ago and 1,300 meters long and features a variety of scenic stalactites and stalagmites throughout the cave:

Some of them can be quite large and impressive:

As you can imagine taking pictures within the cave is challenging due to the lighting conditions as well as the swarm of visitors on the trail trying to push by you while trying to take a picture.  So most of my shots didn’t come out to well, but I was able to get a few shots that show some of the unusual features of this cave:

Expect to get a little wet when visiting Gosu Cave because there is plenty of water dripping from the ceiling, but like I said before if you visit during the summer time this cool dripping water will be a welcome relief from the scorching heat outside:

The trail through the cave is only 1.7 kilometers, but considering the confined space and the number of stairs you have to climb the trail actually feels longer than that.  It takes about an hour to go through the cave by keeping a leisurely pace and enjoying all the natural sites within the cave:

Gosu Cave is open all year round and definitely a must see attraction if you are visiting the Danyang area.  For people really into exploring caves and looking for the best cave in Korea to check out while visiting, Gosu Cave is not it.  Hwanseon Cave in Gangwon-do continues to be the best cave I have visited in Korea though Gosu Cave is a nice substitute for those who can’t make it that far out to Gangwon-do to see the cave.  Does anyone else have their own recommendations for the best cave in Korea?