A Short Trip to Donghaksa Temple

Last Tuesday was Hangeul Day, a holiday celebrating the Korean alphabet system, as invented by King Sejong (who everyone seems to adore even today!). I thought it would be best to spend my day off enjoying some traditional Korean sights on such a traditional-focused day.

Donghaksa Temple is a Buddhist temple outside of Daejeon, about an hour and a half bus ride for me. Luckily, I put in some earbuds and made the most of it.

I decided to travel alone since I, your resident introvert, needed some time without other people. I really wanted to enjoy the quiet and be alone with my thoughts.

When I arrived, I saw mostly old people and families, plus some hiking enthusiasts. Like many Buddhist temples, Donghaksa is situated in the mountains, making for some good trails. (My coteacher says that many of the temples are out in the country as Buddhists fled to the mountains to avoid persecution back in the old days.) 

I passed a lot of souvenir shops, traditional Korean restaurants, Korean street food stalls and a few statues before reaching the temple itself.

I was a bit self-conscious at the temple, because I wasn't exactly sure if I was allowed to go in or even take pictures of the inside. So I erred on the side of caution and did neither, since that was what most visitors seemed to be doing and, above all, I wanted to remember this was a sacred place for many, not just a tourist spot.

There were lots of little things that I stopped to enjoy, like bushes of bright flowers, children looking at Buddha statues, paintings of Buddha, sleepy cats, and small pools of water.

While taking pictures, I even saw a monk pass by. This was a bit cool for me, as I'd never seen a Buddhist monk in person before. Being raised in a very small-town USA, Christian environment gave me little exposure to people of different faiths, and I really valued visiting and observing something that young Ariel could never see. Walking around, I felt a lot of respect and reverence for the place, knowing that it held such importance to others around me.

I highly recommend Donghaksa if you ever get the chance, and I also recommend going alone or with a small group. Sometimes it's healthy and restorative to be alone with your thoughts and as go-go-go as things have been the past few months, I needed the calm of Donghaksa for a day.