Saturday Ben and I decided to go hiking in Seonunsan Provincial Park. To get there, we took a bus from Gunsan to Gochang. Gochang is in the same province as Gunsan, just a little over an hour south of Gunsan, also on the west coast of the Korean peninsula. I was really surprised with what Gochang had to offer. We had over a hour to wait in Gochang to catch the bus to the park, so we went to Gochangeup Fortress. It was originally built in 1453 to defend against the Japanese invasion and was restored in 1976. Once a year there is a festival there where woman walk around the fortress walls 3 times with a stone on their head in a leap month to live long and so that they could be admitted into paradise after death. The fortress was preserved really well, but it was a little foggy, so we couldn't get the best of pictures.
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After looking around the fortress, and walking around it once, we went back to the bus station and took the bus to Seonunsan Provincial Park.
On the way to the entrance of Seonunsa Temple, Ben drank a mountain berry smoothie drink. It wasn't too bad. We then looked around the temple a little bit
and hit the trail (which started out as a road). We made it to the place of the Buddha carved in stone, but we walked up some stairs to a little temple on the rocks. We got a free banana, candy and mandu (dumpling) from a nice lady. We then went back down and found this carved in stone.
Ben went into a small cave to the right of the Buddha and hit his head. Thankfully he was ok, but he did bleed a little. We then went hiking around the park.
Unlike most parks we had been to recently, there were not a lot of people around. It was really peaceful. If it hadn't been for the fog, we would have had great views of the West Sea. We had some time before the bus back to Gochang, so Ben had some silk worm larva
and I had some roasted chestnuts, both common snacks you can buy from a cart. I wouldn't even try the bugs, yuck. Ben thought they were ok, but couldn't eat the cup that he had been given. When we got back to Gochang we took a taxi to the Gochang Dolmen site. I had no idea these things existed, but when I was searching for things to do in Gochang on the Internet on Friday, these dolmen sites popped up. Ok, so they were not as exciting as I had hoped, but still interesting. A dolmen is a prehistoric tomb covered with a large stone. These dolmens date back to 800 B.C., so a long time ago. There are a whole lot in Gochang, in fact Gochang has the densest area in Korea of dolmens. You can also find dolmens in Japan and China, but Korea has the majority of them.
We then went to the dolmen museum, which we suspect was closed when we got there, but the nice Korean man working at the entrance still let us look around. He didn't know a lot of English, but he tried really hard and we appreciated what he did tell us. After looking around we then asked if he could help us call a taxi to get back to the bus station and instead two other employees at the museum took us. The Koreans really are so nice and generous. We never expect anything, and yet time and time again we are treated with kindness. We took the bus back to Gunsan and called it a day. Who knew Gochang had so much to offer. I'm glad we went.
.JPG)
After looking around the fortress, and walking around it once, we went back to the bus station and took the bus to Seonunsan Provincial Park. 
On the way to the entrance of Seonunsa Temple, Ben drank a mountain berry smoothie drink. It wasn't too bad. We then looked around the temple a little bit 
and hit the trail (which started out as a road). We made it to the place of the Buddha carved in stone, but we walked up some stairs to a little temple on the rocks. We got a free banana, candy and mandu (dumpling) from a nice lady. We then went back down and found this carved in stone. 
Ben went into a small cave to the right of the Buddha and hit his head. Thankfully he was ok, but he did bleed a little. We then went hiking around the park. 
Unlike most parks we had been to recently, there were not a lot of people around. It was really peaceful. If it hadn't been for the fog, we would have had great views of the West Sea. We had some time before the bus back to Gochang, so Ben had some silk worm larva 
and I had some roasted chestnuts, both common snacks you can buy from a cart. I wouldn't even try the bugs, yuck. Ben thought they were ok, but couldn't eat the cup that he had been given. When we got back to Gochang we took a taxi to the Gochang Dolmen site. I had no idea these things existed, but when I was searching for things to do in Gochang on the Internet on Friday, these dolmen sites popped up. Ok, so they were not as exciting as I had hoped, but still interesting. A dolmen is a prehistoric tomb covered with a large stone. These dolmens date back to 800 B.C., so a long time ago. There are a whole lot in Gochang, in fact Gochang has the densest area in Korea of dolmens. You can also find dolmens in Japan and China, but Korea has the majority of them.
We then went to the dolmen museum, which we suspect was closed when we got there, but the nice Korean man working at the entrance still let us look around. He didn't know a lot of English, but he tried really hard and we appreciated what he did tell us. After looking around we then asked if he could help us call a taxi to get back to the bus station and instead two other employees at the museum took us. The Koreans really are so nice and generous. We never expect anything, and yet time and time again we are treated with kindness. We took the bus back to Gunsan and called it a day. Who knew Gochang had so much to offer. I'm glad we went. 
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