A Camping Trip in the Foothills of Jirisan

Hamyang is a town cradled by Jirisan. Even on the way from Hamyang to the foot of the mountain, Jirisan is always close by. Cross Jianjae Pass and Odojae Pass and you can take in the full spectacle of Jirisan from the Jirisan View Park. Reach Macheon-myeon and the Jirisan Dulle-gil trail continues on past Seoamjeongsa Temple and Byeoksongsa Temple, drawing you into the embrace of the majestic mountain.

Along the way

1. 1
   Sangnim Park

   상림공원

   Hamyang lies at the foot of Jirisan and was once considered one of the remotest of remote places. As a center of Confucian scholarship for the right half of Gyeongsang-do, and blessed with fine mountains and clean water, Hamyang has many cultural heritage sites tied to its yangban scholar-official families. People from Hamyang say there is one thing they miss even more than old friends: Sangnim, the forest said to have been created by Choe Chi-won when he served as magistrate of the old Cheollyeong County. It is a place steeped in the memories and romance of everyone who has ever lived here or passed through, and in the compassion of one renowned local official for his people. That place is Sangnim. MoreLess

   

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2. 2

   Lunch (Ogyeonga Hamyang, Gyeongsangdo-jip)

   점심식사(옥연가 함양점, 경상도집)

   [Ogyeonga Hamyang] Rice cooked in pesticide-free lotus leaves — lotus leaf rice is this restaurant's signature dish. It's a nutritious food enjoyed by people of all ages, good for men's stamina as well as for restoring energy and calming the mind in children and students preparing for exams, and for women's skin care and anti-aging. Here, 11 kinds of grains are added — glutinous rice, black rice, foxtail millet, sorghum, Job's tears, pine nuts, jujubes, black beans, red beans, walnuts, and sunflower seeds — taking the nutrition a step further. [Gyeongsangdo-jip] A whole boiled chicken (baeksuk) prepared the herbal-medicine way, with ginseng, fragrant herbs, jujubes, garlic, chestnuts, mung beans, shiitake mushrooms, and sesame. The restaurant is known for its distinctive dishes, spicy braised chicken, whelk salad, and savory pancakes, and its acorn jelly made from wild acorns gathered in Sangnim Forest is especially unusual.MoreLess

   

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3. 3
   Odojae Pass and Jirisan View Park

   오도재와 지리산조망공원

   Odojae is the shortest route from Hamyang to Jirisan, opened in 2004. Beyond its function as a road, the snake-like winding path over the pass has become a new attraction and popular tourist spot. Just below the summit of Odojae, a spot offering a full view of Jirisan's main ridgeline (from Nogodan to Cheonwangbong) has been developed into the sprawling Jirisan View Park, giving passing travelers a reason to stop and a place to rest. Gazing out over Jirisan, called the mother of great nature, you can feel all worldly worries fall away and a natural sense of grandeur well up inside you. MoreLess

   

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4. 4
   Jirisan Natural Recreation Forest

   지리산자연휴양림

   Administratively, Jirisan Natural Recreation Forest is located in Eumjeong, Samjeong-ri, Macheon-myeon, Hamyang County, Gyeongsangnam-do; Macheon-myeon borders Hagae-myeon of Hadong County, Simjang-myeon of Sancheong County, Hamyang-eup and Hyucheon-myeon of Hamyang County, and San-nae-myeon of Namwon County. The forest lies 31km from the Saengcho IC on the Daejeon–Tongyeong Expressway and 20km from the Jirisan (Inwol) IC on Expressway 88, reachable within 30 minutes from the expressway, so access by car is fairly good, though public transportation is somewhat inconvenient. MoreLess

   

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5. 5
   Seoamjeongsa Temple

   서암정사

   Seoamjeongsa Temple began taking shape in the mid-1960s under Master Woneung and has continued to grow ever since. Around the time of the Korean War, this site witnessed the tragedy of Koreans fighting Koreans, and Master Woneung began building the temple with the vow to heal the nation's pain and pray for peace among humankind. Seoamjeongsa also houses numerous sutra-copying works, including the roughly 600,000-character Geumni Hwaeomgyeong (Gold-ink Avatamsaka Sutra), which Master Woneung spent 15 years hand-copying to completion. His sutra-copying practice is regarded as having revived a tradition of sagyeong (devotional sutra transcription) that had long lapsed in Korean Buddhism. Amid beautiful natural scenery, Seoamjeongsa is a place where visitors can quietly take in a variety of Buddhist stone carvings alongside the record of one monk's sutra-copying devotion. MoreLess

   

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6. 6

   Byeoksongsa Temple

   벽송사

   Byeoksongsa Temple is presumed to have been founded in the late Silla or early Goryeo period. It has long been widely known as a place of Buddhist practice, but a fire destroyed the records, making its detailed history difficult to trace. It is said to have been rebuilt in 1520 by Master Byeoksong Jieom during the reign of King Jungjong of Joseon. It is home to the three-story stone pagoda of Byeoksongsa, designated Treasure No. 474. Located partway up the mountainside at the entrance to Chilseon Valley, one of Korea's three great valleys within Jirisan, the temple also carries a tragic history from around the time of the Korean War. MoreLess

   

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