Sometimes it’s isolating living in Songdo. The endlessly high apartment complexes. The way the trees lines up in perfect rows. The wide streets that are just a little too large for the number of cars on them. It never made sense to me why they designed an eco-friendly smart city only to include five lanes roads throughout . . . But luckily, travel over the bridge 10 minutes and the landscaping instantly changes.

Over the bridge one is reacquainted to a more authentic Korea. Elegant fences encasing hanok roofed homes. Little coffee shops with quirky outside patios and even more unconventional menus. And narrow streets, steep as a slide, like the one pictured to the left.

Now, it has been my experience thus far in Korea that taxi drivers do not drive particularly safely. I’ve reached this conclusion from the number of drivers I’ve had who easily surpass 120kph. But nothing beats the fright of a 70-year-old taxi driver racing up this hill without hesitation. (It’s a lot steeper than it looks).

Fortunately, there is something extremely worthwhile at the top . . .

Welcome to Heungryunsa Temple. Resting on the edge of Cheongnyangsan, is this beautiful Buddhist Temple. Coming from the street side, this elegant staircase leads you up into it’s oasis consisting of 8 separate buildings separated by perfectly maintained gardens and grounds. Past the temple one can choose to take a short 3 minute (0.1km) trail up to meet the main hiking trail on Cheongnyang Mountain.

The kicker is that I’ve actually climbed this mountain two times before, since it’s the closest hiking to Songdo, and never knew this temple existed until last weekend.

Time to explore.

The most spectacular thing about this temple for me was the shear number of lanterns that hung above as we walked through. In Buddhism, lanterns signify wisdom and openness and is one way that people pay respect to Buddha. Last year on Buddha’s birthday in May, I was able to visit Bongeunsa (one of the most famous Buddhist temple’s in Seoul) to see all the sheets of lanterns that hung from every inch of  the air on Buddha’s day. However, on a cold January afternoon, I was surprised, yet in awe, to see so many lanterns still hanging from the sky.

Something that always jumps out to me when I visit Buddhist temples is the Manji symbol (Swastika) that one sees often on the larger building walls. These symbol represent harmony and mercy, and are symbolic of nurturing life. These always stand out so prominently because at first glance it appears to me as a symbol I have become very familiar with in my upbringing as meaning quite the opposite of it’s true definition.

When I search the word “Swastika” on google search, here is the definition I get: “an ancient symbol in the form of an equal-armed cross with each arm continued at a right angle, used (in clockwise form) as the emblem of the German Nazi party.” There is no mention in that initial search of it’s ancient meaning, and no reference to Buddhism. Essentially, even modern day machine recognize anything in this form as being evil. This is quite sad to me, since I know most people who visit these temples as a tourist will not know the difference in this symbols orientation. They will only see hate where Buddhism reflects only peace when this symbols is painted vertically.

Heungryunsa Temple is perhaps my favorite temple thus far that I’ve had the chance to explore. After visiting, my friend and I were curious how old this temple was, and researched to find out that it was established first 613 years ago in the Goryeo Dynasty with the original name Cheongnyangsa Temple. In 1592 when Korea was invaded by the Japanese, this temple was destroyed in a fire and was not rebuild until the 20th century to be enjoyed by monks, visitors and tourists alike. Luckily today, it’s a sanctuary that runs an open room for mediation and a temple stay program for people who want a deeper cultural experience.

If you visit, make sure to hit the view at sunset. You will not be disappointed.