[Jo Yongjun's Journey] The Forest Awakens Me... Bi-janamu and Pyeonbaek Tree Forests, This Is Healing

A Healing Journey into the Forest of Jangheung, the Land of Healing

Travelers walking through the Eokbulsan Cypress Forest

Borimsa Bijarim Forest - Provided by Korea Tourism Organization

Japanese yew

Borimsa Three-Story Stone Pagoda

The Road to Goyoungwan House

Jangheung's representative dishes: Jangheung Samhap, Korean Beef Doenjang Mulhoe, and Saltwater Eel Shabu-Shabu

[Asia Economy Travel Specialist Reporter Jo Yong-jun] Due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), summer festivals across the country have been canceled one after another. The Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival, which has established itself as a representative summer festival, will not be held this year either. Every year, tens of thousands of travelers visited Jangheung to enjoy water play and forget the heat. However, Jangheung is not only about the Water Festival. Mountains stand like folding screens everywhere you go, and clear water overflows in the valleys. The dense forests, pavilions, and the scent of literature cannot be overlooked. And that's not all. There is also an abundance of food that will surely capture your summer appetite, such as Jangheung Samhap, doenjang mulhoe, and gatjangeo shabu-shabu. Among them, let's embark on a forest journey that will provide vitality and recharge your body and mind tired from COVID-19. This is the Bija Tree Forest of Borimsa Temple, quietly nestled at the foot of Gajisan Mountain. Walking along the cozy forest path, it seems that the tired body and mind are naturally healed. How about the tall cypress forest of Eokbulsan Mountain? The pristine forest covering the sky is dense, and the forest path walking through it is unique. The air is different, and the sunlight is different.

Before entering the Bija Tree Forest of Gajisan, let's first visit Borimsa Temple. Borimsa Temple is an ancient temple from the Unified Silla period, founded in 860 (the 4th year of King Heonan). Along with Borimsa Temple of Gajisan in India and Borimsa Temple of Gajisan in China, it is called one of the "Three Borims of the East." It is said that great monks such as Won-gam Guksa and Gakjin Guksa stayed here.

Standing in the temple courtyard and looking around, the peaks of Gajisan resemble lotus flowers. Borimsa Temple is located right in the middle of the lotus. The reason why the sound of Borimsa Temple’s temple bell is soft and has a long echo is that Gajisan acts as a resonator. Poet Kim Young-nam wrote a poem titled "Borimsa Comb" inspired by the sound of Borimsa Temple’s bell. "In the distant sound of Borimsa Temple’s bell / A pretty pine bird lives in the Gajisan valley... / Every time I hear this bell sound / I take out a comb here / And comb my tangled thoughts."

There are many valuable relics in the temple grounds. These include the three-story stone pagodas to the south and north of Borimsa Temple and the stone lantern (National Treasure No. 44), the iron seated Vairocana Buddha statue (National Treasure No. 117), the eastern monk’s tomb (Treasure No. 155) and western monk’s tomb (Treasure No. 156), the Bojo Seonsa pagoda (Treasure No. 157), and the Bojo Seonsa pagoda stele (Treasure No. 158). The three-story stone pagodas standing north and south resemble the Seokgatap Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju. They are typical Unified Silla period stone pagodas made in 870 (the 10th year of King Gyeongmun).

The iron seated Vairocana Buddha statue is the oldest iron Buddha statue in Korea. On the back of the left arm of the statue, there is an inscription stating that in 858 (the 2nd year of King Heonan), Kim Su-jong made the statue with the king’s permission. This inscription shows that Buddhism had spread nationwide during the Silla period to the extent that local elites could create Buddha statues as private property.

Now, let’s go to the dense Bija Tree Forest behind Borimsa Temple. Over 500 Bija trees, each over 300 years old, form a colony, and many oak, maple, and pine trees also grow. It was designated as a Forest Genetic Resource Protection Forest in 1982, and in 2009, it received the "Millennium Forest" encouragement award at the 10th Beautiful Forest National Competition jointly hosted by the Korea Forest Service, the Life Forest Association, and Yuhan-Kimberly. The Bija tree has grayish-brown bark. Its wood quality is good and is used for Go boards or furniture. The oil from its fruit is known to stop coughing and aid bowel movements.

A walking path like a stream runs through the Bija Tree Forest. The forest is so deep that not a single ray of strong midsummer sunlight can penetrate. Walking along the modest path, both body and mind seem to be dyed green. Taking a deep breath fills your chest with the scent of the forest. The low sound of the wind and birdsong continue. It is truly a refreshing and invigorating scene. Just standing here naturally heals you.

Benches and forest bathing platforms are set up throughout the forest. The walking path is not steep, making it easy for anyone to walk, and even a slow walk takes only about 20 minutes.

A traveler from Seoul said, "The scent that stimulates the nose when entering the forest is good, and the wind brushing over the whole body naturally makes me feel healed."

Walking along the Bija Tree Forest path, you will notice thick wild grass between the trees, but if you look closely, it is a wild tea field. That is why this path is called the "Cheongtaejeon Tea Road." Cheongtaejeon (靑苔錢) means "tea shaped like a coin covered with blue moss," with a hole in the middle resembling an old coin. It is a fermented tea boasting a 1,200-year history, developed mainly in the southern coastal areas including Jangheung from the Three Kingdoms period to modern times. Wild tea leaves are picked, roasted in a cauldron, pounded in a mortar, shaped into coin-like forms, and fermented. At Jangheung Tea Garden or Pyeonghwa Tea Garden, you can make and taste Cheongtaejeon yourself.

After completing a round on the Cheongtaejeon Tea Road, you return to Borimsa Temple. Since you have worked up a sweat, let's taste the cool medicinal water. There is an old medicinal spring in front of the Daeungbojeon Hall. You can see a few fish in the spring water. The water is drinkable and tastes refreshing. The Korea Association for Conservation of Nature designated it as one of "Korea’s Famous Waters."

Near Jangheung town, on Eokbulsan Mountain, there is a cypress forest called Wood Land, known as the "Healing Forest." Wood Land is located in a 1 million hectare cypress forest at the foot of Eokbulsan Mountain. It is a healing complex equipped with lodging facilities, walking trails, and wind bathing areas.

Entering the cypress forest, the continuous rainy season has made the forest moist, and the scent of cypress is thick and abundant. It is extremely clear and refreshing. Following the gentle wooden deck crossing through the cypress trees, the forest is dense with cypress trees stretching straight up to the sky as if competing with each other. It seems not an exaggeration to say it is the largest cypress forest in Korea. The green shade of the trees covering the sky looks cool just by sight, and the sunlight pouring through the leaves is refreshing.

At the top of the cypress forest cluster is the "Wind Bathing Area." It is the most famous attraction of Cypress Forest Wood Land. It is a place to heal body and mind by facing the wind in the forest.

Lying on a hammock in the wind bathing area feels like being isolated from the world. The sounds of people fade away, and only the rustling leaves swayed by the wind and the chirping of birds fill the land. The sky is covered by the green shade of the trees. It is complete relaxation.

In Pyeonghwa-ri at the foot of Eokbulsan Mountain, there is "Sangseon Medicinal Water Village." The most enchanting space in the village is a pond surrounded by old pine trees and crape myrtles (Mokbaegilhong). The pond is named "Songbaekjeong (松百井)" because it has pine trees (松, song), crape myrtles (百, baek), and a pond (井, jeong). At the end of a short forest path closely attached to the pond stands the Goyoungwan House. From the entrance, a large tree extends its trunk under the fence. Around the curved stone stairs, moss and ferns sparkle with moist humidity. On one side, a bamboo grove covers the sky. It is a scene full of refreshing and invigorating energy.

Jangheung=Written and photographed by Travel Specialist Reporter Jo Yong-jun jun21@

◇Travel Notes

△How to get there=Take the Gyeongbu, Cheonan-Nonsan, or Honam Expressway, exit at Donggwangju Interchange, then take the Gwangju Outer Ring Road and Route 29 towards Hwasun. After passing Hwasun-eup, turn right towards Jangpyeong at Iyang-myeon. Following the signposts towards Yuchi, you will find the road to Borimsa Temple.

△Food=Representative dishes include Jangheung Samhap, which combines pen shell scallops, shiitake mushrooms, and Korean beef, but in summer, gatjangeo shabu-shabu is delicious. The broth is made by boiling eel bones, jujube, and omnamu (Acanthopanax) with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), and sliced gatjangeo (conger eel) pieces are blanched and enjoyed as shabu-shabu. Doenjang mulhoe is also a summer delicacy. It is made by mixing the flesh of rockfish or sea bream and other fish slightly cooked with young summer radish kimchi and doenjang, along with onion, green chili, garlic, plum, and vinegar fermented with Makgeolli.

△Attractions=Sodeungseom Island, where director Im Kwon-taek’s film "Festival" was filmed, offers an experience of the sea parting phenomenon. Yuchi Natural Recreation Forest is a famous recreation forest in Jangheung with dense forests, waterfalls, and camping sites. There is also the Cheonggwan Mountain reed field and Cheonggwan Literary Park. Haedongsa Temple in Jangdong-myeon is the only shrine in Korea enshrining the portrait and memorial tablet of independence activist An Jung-geun. The Saturday market is also well known.