Buyeo

Sometimes it takes a friend moving to an obscure location in order to have reason to visit. Once there however one can truly discover phenomenal things that would be otherwise undiscovered and easily missed. This was just the case for the Korean west coast city of Buyeo another former capital of the Baekje Dynasty established in 18 BC.

Never on a ‘Bucket List’, Buyeo is certainly something not to be missed on a trip to Korea. Upon arrival you instantly get a small town feel that you normally don’t get while visiting typical urbanite locations in Korea.  Busosanseong makes the perfect place to start a tour of Buyeo for a morning hike in the mountains in the heart of the city packed full of historical sites.  At the top of the mountain is a grand view of the quaint city where the Baengma River carves through it, with a rather dark past where it is said 3000 women jumped to their deaths from the Nakwaam Rock before the Chinese invaded.

Back in the city there are many other points of attraction, from the small but informative Buyeo National Museum, to the extensive Seodong Park, offering additional leisure to the already peaceful and slow paced city. The Gungnamji Pond is certainly the highlight of the park with walkways through seemingly endless lotus filled ponds. Before departing from the tiny intercity bus terminal you can take a glimpse of the tranquil Jeongnisima Temple and its 1500 year old stone pagoda to leave you with some piece of mind before departing the calm historic city and to re-emerge into the hustle and bustle of Korean life.