2024-04-14 22:24:04
Wanju, which surrounds Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, is a quiet farming village, but is in the spotlight as a cultural city. Samrye, the center of Wanju, was the junction where Haenam-ro in Honam and Tongyeong-ro in Yeongnam meet on Samnam-daero, one of the top 10 main roads of Joseon. I visited Wanju, where a landmark observatory that offers a panoramic view of the historical and cultural path carved in a wide field and the mountain landscape where dragons and phoenixes meet is opening soon.
●Hwaamsa Temple with rain of flowers
Hwaamsa Temple, hidden in the valley of Bulmyeongsan Mountain in Wanju, is a great place to visit on a rainy day. Large and small waterfalls appear along the valley path covered in hazy fog. In the shade of the valley road, there are a wealth of wild flowers such as blue corydalis, mottled leaves rising above, yellow assemblage, and wildflowers.
Among them, a wild flower with an unfamiliar name, Corydalis, attracts attention. When I searched the name of the flower, I found that its Latin scientific name, corydalis, means lark. ‘Why does it resemble a skylark?’ The moment I thought about it, I hit her knee. Thinking that the end of the honey sac was the face of a bird, and the opened petals were the tail, it was definitely shaped like a skylark. It looked like a young bird receiving food, or a choir of larks flying over a green barley field on a spring day, singing loudly.
At the end of the valley, Uhwaru (雨花樓) appears with a signboard saying Hwaamsa Temple (佛明山 花巖寺) on Bulmyeong Mountain. Hwaamsa Temple on Mt. Geumgang, located in Goseong, Gangwon-do, is called ‘Hwaamsa Temple (禾巖寺)’ written in the Chinese character for rice (禾). It was named so because there is a rock on the mountain behind the temple that is shaped like piles of rice cut and piled up.
However, there seems to be a flower rock at Hwaamsa Temple in Wanju. Uhwaru, which stands at the main gate of Hwaamsa Temple, is named after a Buddhist scripture that says white and red lotus flowers fell from the sky like a rain of flowers when the Buddha was preaching at Yeongchuksan Mountain. There is a window in the second-floor pavilion of Uhwaru, and it is raining right now, and flower petals are falling from the trees outside the window.
In Geungnakjeon of Hwaamsa Temple, there is a legendary bell that rings on its own at dawn to wake the monks, and in Uhwaru there is a wooden fish with eyes the size of bells. The lotus flower hanging on the small door next to Uhwaru is a popular photo spot. You can get great photos by using a backlit silhouette.
In his poem ‘My Love at Hwaamsa Temple,’ poet Ahn Do-hyeon described Hwaamsa Temple as ‘a well-aged temple.’ Sitting on the floor of Jeokmukdang (寂默堂), looking at the square yard, I count the years over which this temple has aged. Poet Ahn concluded the last verse with ‘Hwaamsa Temple, my love, I will not necessarily tell you the way to get there.’ It probably means that it is a temple that I want to hide somewhere and visit only myself from time to time.
●A road where history and culture meet
Woosuk University, located in Samrye-eup, Wanju, has a 23-story university headquarters building. It may not be a big deal in the city center, but it stands tall alone despite the plains on all sides, so it has a remarkable presence. ‘W-SKY 23 Cultural Observatory’ is scheduled to open on the rooftop of this building on the 25th.
When you go up to the rooftop, you can actually see the Honam Plain unfolding in a 360-degree direction. You can see not only the Mangyeong River basin in Wanju, but also the cityscapes of Jeonju and Iksan, Galjae in Jeongeup, Naebyeonsan Mountain in Buan, and Saemangeum at a glance. In addition, historical sites such as Wanju Mahan ruins, Iksan Wanggung-ri ruins, and Donghak Samrye Square are also displayed.
It is popular to build landmark observatories in each region, but it is rare to find a place where you can watch the sunset over the horizon so refreshingly. There is a table by the window where you can drink tea while looking at the scenery, and 100 people can sit around and watch the performance in the terraced seats on the central stage. Instead of spending tens of billions of won to build a landmark, Wanju-gun transformed the rooftop of Woosuk University headquarters, already the tallest university building in Korea, into an observation facility. This is a good example of cooperation between local governments and universities for tourism.
I visited Moak Mountain, which I saw from the observatory. Moak Mountain, which forms the border of Jeonju and Gimje, is a mountain with beautiful spring scenery. It is said that there is a rock at the top that resembles a mother holding a child, so it was called Moak.
The Jeonbuk Provincial Museum of Art, gently hugging the skirt of Moaksan Mountain, has a wide Gui Reservoir spread out in front. Currently, the ‘Nothing to Waste’ exhibition is being held at this museum, where artists from around the world humorously express global environmental issues.
At Andeok Health Healing Experience Village, located at the foot of Moaksan Mountain, you can experience oriental medicine treatment, moxibustion treatment, and healing your body and mind in the red clay steam room, which is open 24 hours a day. There is an ‘old gold mining cave’ on the trail around the steam room. It is considered a special summer resort because the air remains cool even in the middle of summer.
Oseong Hanok Village in Soyang-myeon consists of 50 households and 23 houses made up of traditional Korean houses and old houses. Ahwon Old House and Oseongje Reservoir Pine Tree are also famous as filming locations for BTS music videos, so foreign tourists constantly visit. While Jeonju Hanok Village is overly commercialized, Oseong Hanok Village has a more cozy and luxurious atmosphere thanks to the harmony of the surrounding mountains, stone walls, and gardens. Most of the hanoks in this village were built by moving 100-150 year old old houses that were in danger of demolition.
Soyang Gotaek in this village is a Hanok that was dismantled and relocated from three 180-year-old houses in Gochang, Jeollabuk-do, Muan, Jeollanam-do, and Pohang, Gyeongbuk. Soyang Gotaek Flickr Bookstore is a bookstore that retains the tranquility of a hanok. The phrase ‘Fill your home with books and your garden with flowers’ written on the outside wall of a bookstore is impressive.
●Into the scent of lemon blossoms
Italian composer Mascagni’s opera ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ is set in a Sicilian island village. At the beginning of this opera, there is a choral song called ‘The Scent of Orange Blossoms is Blowing in the Wind’. ‘The scent of orange blossoms blows in the wind/The lark sings in the forest/Oh, bright-eyed maidens/Just as birds fly in search of a mate/We too fly to you.’
What is the scent of orange blossoms like? As a city dweller who had never smelled the scent of tangerine flowers in Jeju Island, it was difficult to imagine. however! The moment you enter the approximately 1,650㎡ (approximately 500 pyeong) lemon greenhouse at the lemon farm cafe ‘Born & Hillee’ in Hillee, Yongjin-eup, Wanju, you can smell the scent of lemon flowers blowing in the wind, although they are not oranges. I took charge of it. Ah, this is the scent of lemon blossoms! A sweet, savory, and refreshing scent filled the greenhouse.
Bon & High Lee is a farm run by a mother and son who have been farming for three generations in Wanju and five local youth. This brand was created to symbolize Wanju local food made by a farmer who was born and raised in Hiri. After farming sweet pumpkins, I have been farming persimmons such as lemons and hallabongs imported from Jeju for the past five years.
His son, Hwang In-jae (26), who is in charge of the office, farms lemons and wheat, and wakes up at 6 a.m. every day to bake bread and make lemon syrup using the wheat he harvests himself. If you order bread and lemonade at the cafe, you can eat it on the second floor of the cafe overlooking the wheat fields or at a table inside the greenhouse with the scent of lemon blossoms.
There are many places in Wanju where you can taste local food where ‘locally produced agricultural products are consumed locally.’ The number of local food direct stores has increased to 12 since it first opened in 2012. On the second floor of the Yongjin Nonghyup local food direct store, there is ‘Golden Pond’, a Korean buffet restaurant using local foods. The neat and fresh food whets up the appetite, including Samrye strawberries picked that morning, fish cutlet made from soft white fish, boiled pork wrapped with fresh vegetables freshly picked from the field, and colorful lotus root dishes.
Finished = Reporter Jeon Seung-hoon [email protected]
2024-04-14 22:24:04