Nestled in the forested hills just outside of Cheonan sits Gakwonsa (sometimes Romanized as: Gagwonsa) – a Buddhist Temple that is home to one of the largest seated Buddhas in South Korea. If you’re only going to visit ONE Buddhist Temple in Korea while living near Camp Humphreys, this is the one to see. In the fall the foliage is beautiful and in the spring it’s a fantastic (albeit crowded) place to see the cherry blossoms. No matter what time of year you come, you won’t be disappointed you stopped by!
Gakwon Buddhist Temple in Cheonan
Some sources claim Gakwonsa’s Buddha as the largest, but according to my research, the largest seated Buddha is a whopping 21 meters tall and is at Hongbeop Temple in Busan (hello bucket list!). That being said, the Buddha at Gakwonsa definitely did not disappoint. It stands 15 meters high – which, by the way, is WAY bigger than I thought it would be. It was overwhelming to walk up the steep steps to see this monstrous (yet beautiful) figure overshadowing us. M just kept saying “Wow – big Buddha!” over and over again. I think we were all impressed.
Gakwonsa was established in the 70’s for the purpose of praying to reunite North Korea and South Korea. And aside from the MASSIVE Buddha, Gakwonsa is just a really cool place to visit. There are at least six different buildings you can see and, just like at Simbok Temple which we visited earlier in the week, the architecture and colors are INCREDIBLE. Unlike Simbok Temple, Gakwonsa was busy. We saw many people praying in the prayer halls, as well as in front of the giant Buddha statue.
And, of course, it felt at times like people were watching us more than they were paying attention to the Temple and the giant Buddha. I thought maybe I would be used to the staring and the picture-taking by now (since I’ve been here for almost a month), but honestly, I’m not. And today I was having kind of a hard time with it. Everybody we encountered was very kind (including the older couple who REALLY wanted to talk to us, but who didn’t speak any English), but the blatant staring can definitely make one pretty self-conscious at times.
As a funny ending to the day, we were low on gas and were worried we wouldn’t make it home. We stopped by a Korean gas station (which we have never done before – up until this point we have always filled up our tank on post) and figured it wouldn’t be too complicated. As it turns out, the pump was pretty different than those we are used to PLUS our van is Diesel and we couldn’t figure out which nozzle we needed to use.
Because we weren’t in the mood to deal with some pretty serious car troubles (ha!) Brandon went to the man filling his car behind us and used a translation app to ask which nozzle was Diesel. The man showed us which nozzle to use (and showed us that our gas cap actually has “Diesel” written on it in Korean, so we can just match it with the Korean on the nozzle next time) and then proceeded to help Brandon fill the car up when the screen was asking a bunch questions – all of which were in Korean and none of which were understandable with our translation apps.
The man didn’t speak a word of English, but he found a way to help us and we will be forever grateful. It’s humbling being in a new country where you don’t speak the language OR understand their alphabet. We’ve had to ask for help and support from others and that can be so difficult to do. But I know the Lord blesses those who lovingly serve others. I’m grateful for the many people we have encountered here who have showed us love and patience.
’til the next adventure…
Ash
How to visit Gakwon Temple in Cheonan
Directions: Paste 충남 천안시 동남구 각원사길 245 into Naver it’ll take you right to the temple.
Cost: FREE (donations are always welcome)
Parking: There are multiple large parking areas that are all free to park in. Keep in mind, if you visit anytime between April-June, one of those areas may be unavailable due to lantern decorations that are set up. If you are visiting during cherry blossom season, get there early if you want to secure parking.
Amenities: There are bathrooms that are easily accessible. Many of the toilets are the “squatter toilets,” but there are regular toilets in the same bathroom as well.
