10 Best Historic Things to See in Pyeongchang

Hyoseok Culture Village in Bongpyeong is the place where Gasan Lee Hyo-seok, the author of “When Buckwheat flowers Bloom,” which was chosen as a monumental short storey in the history of Korean modern literature, was born and grew up. It is also the actual background of the work about the life and sorrows of an itinerant vendor selling goods wandering around Bongpyeong, Gangwon-do in the 1930s. Along the Hyoseongmunhak-gil, you can find the Lee Hyo-seok Memorial Hall, Hyoseok Moonlight Hill, which is a theme park, the birthplace of Lee Hyo-seok, and the Literature Forest. At the Memorial Hall, you can see his handwritten manuscripts and articles that contain the life and world of Lee Hyo-seok, as well as various materials that provide insights into the times. You can meet the space of memories at the theme park, in which the characters and the scenes of the story were reproduced.

In early fall, when buckwheat flowers bloom around the hillside, the Pyeongchang Hyoseok Cultural Festival, where nature and literature come together in harmony, takes place. Local residents participate and volunteer in the cultural festival where you can look back on the author’s literary spirit and the value of his works. Make unforgettable memories while enjoying a variety of performances and experience events with the vast fields of buckwheat flowers in the background.

Woljeongsa Temple is a thousand-year-old temple built by monk Jajang-yulsa upon his return after studying with the Tang Dynasty in 643 during the Silla Dynasty. It is said that he built a small temple and stayed there to meet the Manjusri, who gave him the surplice and the sarira of the Buddha while studying with the Tang Dynasty. After walking along the dense fir forest trails in the quiet atmosphere of the green coniferous forest and crossing the Geumgangyeon, you will come across the Cheonwangmun Gate. After going into the entrance and passing through the pavilion and Daebeopryunjeon Hall, you will find Jeokgwangjeon Hall where the figure of Sakayamuni is enshrined. The Octagonal Nine-storey Stone Pagoda in the courtyard of Jeokgwangjeon Hall, National Treasure No. 48, is one of the most important cultural properties. It is a stone pagoda representing the Goryeo Dynasty with a height of 15.2 metres, where the sarira of the Buddha is stored. In front of the pagoda sits the figure of a seated stone Bodhisattva making a Buddhist offering on bended knees as if she wants to find enlightenment.

Although being destroyed several times by fire and during the Korean War, it was restored into its present form thanks to the efforts of Buddhist elders, including Buddhist monk Tanheo, who reconstructed Jeokgwangjeon Hall after the Korean War. If you climb the high hill behind Daeungjeon Hall, you are rewarded with a panoramic view of Woljeongsa Temple.

The former name of Sangwonsa Temple is Jinyeowon, which is said to have been built by Buddhist monk Jajang-yulsa of Shilla together with Woljeongsa Temple. It is a temple which enshrines the statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva, the symbol of wisdom. It is a temple located on the hillside stretching from Woljeongsa Temple to Birobong and is known as one of the top Buddhist educational institutions in Korea. It has all the conditions to study and practise Zen meditation, so it is a place where many monks and Buddhists from all over the country come to cultivate the merciful heart of Buddha.

An important cultural property of the temple, the Bronze Bell with a height of 1.67 metres and a diameter of 91 centimetres, was made in 724 during the reign of King Seongdeok of Silla. The Bronze Bell is National Treasure No. 36 and is known as the oldest bronze bell in existence. You can also see the statues of Child Manjusri and Bodhisattva Manjusri, who is said to have healed King Sejo in the Joseon Dynasty, and Bodhisattva Manjusri, and National Treasure No. 292 for Epistle commemorating the renovation of Sanwonsa Temple, which King Sejo wrote for Sangwonsa Temple. There is a famous story about monk Hanam, who impressed soldiers who were originally planning to burn the temple during the Korean War so much so that he compelled them to only burn the doors to make smoke. Find the traces of painful history at Sangwonsa Temple.

The Bronze Bell of Sangwonsa Temple, National Treasure No. 36, is the oldest bell in existence. It was cast in 725 during the reign of King Seongdeok of Silla, and is a representative Buddhist bell which has all the features of Korean bells. It was made 45 years before the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok in Gyeongju, which is called the Emille Bell. It was originally hung at a gate tower in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, but was transferred to Sangwonsa Temple during the midpoint of the Joseon Dynasty.

The bell stands 1.7 metres high and 91 cm wide. You can also see 8th-century sculptures of celestial maidens flying in the sky while playing a musical instrument. It has a convex body with lower and upper rims that are narrower than the centre, and a poroe (dragon) adorning the top of the bell. It is said that the dragon adorning the top of the bell is holding the heavy bell with mystical powers and shakes its body every time the bell tolls so that the sound travels further. It is also said that the unique patterns of lotus flowers and vines carved at the striking point with a wooden drum help the sound resonate. Feel the breath of a thousand years while looking at the Bronze Bell.

Seongyojang House in Gangneung, which preserves the appearance and tradition of houses of the upper class, was designated as National Folklore Cultural Heritage No. 5 in 1967. It is said that it was built in a great location that was accidentally found by a 11th generation descendent of Prince Hyoryeongdaegun, Lee Nae-beon, who moved from Jeonju to Gyeongpodae. The name Seongyojang was derived from “Baedari Village,” a village which is said that people had to cross the wide Gyeongpo Lake by boat. By extending over ten generations since 1703, it became what it is today and retains the atmosphere of its 300-year history. It is a typical Korean traditional 99-kan house that has both the closeness of the northern part and the openness of the southern part and shows off the magnificence of the household of the gentry.

It is famous for Yeolhwadang, an elegant 12-kan Sarangchae, Anchae, Dongbyeoldang, and Hwallaejeong, a pavilion which looks like it is floating on an artificial pond. A pine tree standing on the round island over the pond viewed from the pavilion creates a picturesque scene. You can get a glimpse of the delicate craft works and lifestyle of the time from the various boudoir crafts, wooden furniture and living relics displayed in the Folk Material Exhibition Hall. Walk leisurely on Cheongryong-gil on the left side of the Seongyojang and the Baekho-gil on its right side, feeling the dignity of the nobles.

Jeokgwangjeon Hall of Woljeongsa Temple is the main Buddhist Hall located in the centre of Woljeongsa Temple. It enshrines the Sakyamuni Buddha in the form of a Buddha statue in Seokguram as the main Buddha. In most temples, Sakyamuni is enshrined in Daeungjeon Hall, which is the centre of the temple, and the Vairocana Buddha, which is the main Buddha of the Avatamska Sutra, is enshrined in Jeokgwangjeon Hall. At Woljeongsa Temple, the Sakyamuni Buddha is uniquely enshrined in Jeokgwangjeon Hall. It is because the temple was aimed at enshrining the Vairocana Buddha of the Avatamska together with Sakyamuni, as the idea of Avatamska was widely spread from Odaesan Mountain, which is a Buddhist sacred place.

Before being burned during the Korean War, Chilbulbojeon Hall enshrined the Seven Buddhas. Present-day Jeokgwangjeon Hall was rebuilt in 1969 with native trees from Odaesan Mountain as the exterior columns and fir trees from Odaesan Mountain as the interior columns at the decision of monk Tanheo. It is a large Buddhist hall and has splendid and majestic dancheong with a hipped-and-gable roof having five-kan on the front and four-kan on the sides. There is Simwoodo on the outer wall, which is a picture showing the process of finding one’s true nature and achieving the enlightened state, so it is recommended to take some time for quiet reflection.