Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple

Every once in a while, a little-known, off-the-beaten-path site manages to outshine the already inscribed sites of a country. It's rare; most of the newly inscribed sites are below average (Els had a blog post on this). But Unjusa is just that: a hidden gem.

We arrived from Gwangju and spent two hours exploring Unjusa. The site consists of a temple complex, pagodas lined against the valley and along the hillsides, tombstones of deceased monks, and several rock-hewn Buddhas. It also features a representation of the Big Dipper, supposedly one of the earliest. An explanation given by wikipedia for all the stone masonry is that this was a school of ... stone masons. 

You can easily spend more than two hours here, as the site offers many hiking trails. They also have a small, and at the time of our visit, very idle cafe.

OUV

Unjusa was the most iconic temple, we visited in Korea, even outshining established World Heritage sites like Bulguksa, Tongdosa, Seonamsa, and Haeinsa. It offers the serene natural beauty typical of Korean temples, but with the added benefit of fewer crowds due to its lower profile. And I may be mistaken, but it felt that the temple was in a more original state and more carefully renovated than the other, heavily reconstructed WHS we saw on our trip in Korea.

Unlike the other Korean temples, the valley at Unjusa is adorned with remarkable pagodas and statues lining the hillsides, adding a …

This, in my opinion, does not only deserve to be a world heritage site, It would also be Korea’s best world heritage site. Unjusa is unfortunately (or rather fortunately) very off the beaten path. The only WHS close by is the Hwasun dolmen component of the site everybody seems to tick off with Ganghwa near Seoul. I spent the night in Naju, the closest place I could find a hotel online, and visited the temple first thing in the morning. As so often during my off-season Korea trip, I was the only visitor. There is a ticket booth and free parking at the entrance.

The temple itself is at the end of a small valley and not spectacular or even different from the many other temples I visited in Korea. The real value lies in the many Pagodas and Buddhas along the valley. The come in different forms and sizes. Some very unique, like the round pagodas or the massive Buddha carved into a rock. Apart from the main road to the temple, you have to explore the paths on the hills to the left, right and even behind the temple. I spent around two hours exploring all the pathways and admiring every single statue and pagoda.

This site should be a must on your itinerary. If you have enough time, you might even consider a temple stay they offer. I leave it to the non-drivers to figure out how to reach the temple with public transport. Just …

Do you know the feeling that when you visit sites and they aren't so special but have World Heritage status? You get this "meh" feeling of disappointment. Then you get to one of those places that are not listed and you do not expect to see much because, hey, those guys are ICOMOS must have checked it out already and immediately recommended for inclusion, but it turns out to be really amazing? Unjusa is one of those places.

Unjusa Temple might be one of Korea's most amazing cultural tourist spot. Yes, I know everyone goes to the temples in Seoul which I personally found mediocre but they are easily accessed and have English tours so I understand they are popular. Unjusa is far away from the nearest towns you could even try to get to with public transportation and then from there taking the bus is going to be even harder. Thus the best solution is unfortunately a rental car or finding a tour group that goes there.

From the description they used to have a thousand Buddha statues and pagodas in the temple area. Now you only get to see 94 statues and 21 pagodas. What happened to them is unclear because I can't see them being moved to other temples. Maybe the 1,000 never really existed and the records are wrong. They do not explain it on the signs.

Nevertheless what you see how is so great. Take a stroll through the entrance gate and after a few …