[Hapcheon County, Gyeongnam] Learning history and relishing nature in Hapcheon

[Hapcheon County, Gyeongnam] Learning history and relishing nature in Hapcheon A trip to Hapcheon County will be somewhat educational when adding Haein Temple and the Hapcheon Image Theme Park on your itinerary. If you're leaving during spring, make sure to finish off your travel course with Mount Hwangmae to see the sea of azaleas.  <Mount Hwangmae in spring.> ▶ In spring, Mount Hwangmae turns into a pink sea of azaleas  Mount Hwangmae (1,108 meters) is one of Korea's three most famous mountains for spring azaleas. Every year when the petite flowers are in full-bloom, throngs of hikers climb up to see the fields of azaleas; there are so many of  them that when the wind blows, they sway in rhythm.  The Mount Hwangmae azalea festival is held around May each year, so that would be the perfect time of year to pay a visit if you're willing to go - but beware that thousands of others will be following your direction! Hiking courses range between 2.5 hours to 10 hours depending on which side you start from. Hovering over 1,000 meters, it's not easy to climb, but once you're up one of Hapcheon's eight main sceneries, you'll feel relieved to have decided to start the adventure after seeing the bizarre-shaped stones. <There's so much to learn at Haein Temple.> ▶ Haein Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site It's needless to say that Haein Temple, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, is the most renowned temple in Korea. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the temple makes a wonderful place to learn more about Korean history because over 200 public and private treasures are enshrined there, including the Tripitaka Koreana.  At the temple, a place called Janggyeong Panjeon is where the Tripitaka Koreana, the 81,258 wooden printing blocks, are stored. The Buddhist scriptures, carved onto the blocks in the 13th century, are known to be preserved in impeccable condition, partly because they're not shown to the public. Visitors can only see them stacked in Janggyeong Panjeon.  <The Tripitaka Koreana was described by the UNESCO committee to be "one of the most important and most complete corpus of Buddhist doctrinal texts in the world."> After a walk through Haein Temple, try following the Sorigil (path) nearby, which passes the Hongryu-dong Valley. ▶ Hapcheon Image Theme Park  Opened a decade ago in 2004, the Hapcheon Image Theme Park has been the filming set of numerous Korean movies and drams, including the blockbuster "Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War" (2004), starring Won Bin and Jang Dong-gun.  The park features around 150 buildings that date as far as a century back, including the Seoul Station and the Chosun Governor-General Office. A walk through the compound is somewhat like a time travel of how Seoul vastly developed during the past decades.  <Feel the old at Hapcheon Image Theme Park.> Visitors can also ride a streetcar around the area, get involved in various historic programs and also try some snacks that were popular in the old days.  ※ Relevant information ▶Hapcheon cultural tour -Homepage: http://culture.hc.go.kr/ -Contact: 055-930-3114