A beautiful autumn leaves scenery. The trees are old and produce little leaves so they named the fall festival “baby autumn leaves fest.” It can get really crowded there. I hated restaurants and cafes with bright lightings near the temple tho.
When visiting Naejangsan National Park it is definitely worthwhile to enter from the south or as if you were going to intentionally visit Baegyangsa(白羊寺) in particular, because at this southern entrance to the park, there is actually a whole town to explore, complete with restaurants, coffee shops and plenty of souvenirs shops you can buy from here. Again there is another long walk from the town (35mins) all the way to where you have to buy the tickets for entrance to go to Baegyangsa proper. If you have bought your tour bus ticket at the depot in Jeongup, you need to buy another return ticket again at the convenient store next to the coffee shop which is next to, or close to the entrance of Baegyangsa park. Otherwise you won't be able to ride the same tour bus again on your way back to Jeongup. If you are in doubt about how to purchase this return ticket, do ask at the tourist office at Jeongup station how to buy the return ticket for your journey from Baegyangsa’s entrance. The problem is the buses are not consistent about when they will sell you a ticket, either right on the bus, or in an office on the way to the bus prior to taking the bus journey.
Spend 2 nights here. Fantastic experience. The monks are really nice, temple food is healthy and delicious and the nature and temple beautiful
Beautiful autumn colour
Good
Peaceful temple stay
We were fortunate enough to be able to make a trip to the Chunjinam Hermitage and Baekyangsa Temple, where the much-touted chef/nun Jeon Kwang (NYT, features Chef's Table Season 3, Episode 1) resides and operates. We spent 3 days and 2 nights there, and had a phenomenal time. I would highly recommend it, as it was a personal highlight from all of my travels.
We were surprised to find only two nuns reside at the hermitage; Jeon Kwang and another nun, Miojin(spelling may be incorrect).
Alongside for the next year is Anne Lee, a Canadian-educated researcher currently putting together a proposal for Korean Temple Food to get Unesco designation as an intangible cultural heritage (which I would say it definitely deserves).
The cost of the program is 150,000KRW per person, per day.
I have a longer review on chowhound, if you're interested.
My recommendation:
A visit to Baekyangsa would be phenomenal if you are able to spend time with the chef (and even if you aren't! Our two days without the chef were even better than the day we had with the chef, but not the same culinary experience). It's a little bit hard to coordinate, but if it's possible it's extremely worth the effort, trek, and price tag.
The added opportunity to visit with Miojin, a fantastic Buddhist and extremely warm person, is highly recommended
It's an extremely fascinating place, at an extremely fascinating time to visit -- where the turmoil of becoming an international sensation is mixed with Korean Buddhism, and where the struggles of secular realities are mixing fervently with an evolving Buddhist culture that is adjusting to those new realities -- backdropped by a gorgeous landscape and beautiful surroundings.
Another option to look into (though I don't have more information to share at the moment):
There are 4 designated Korean Buddhist temple food masters. We had a brief interaction with Woo Kwan, who was bright and cheerful, and speaks English fairly well. I would have liked to spend more time with her, and if I can track down her whereabouts I'll share them here (she's at a temple in Gyeonggi/Incheon, I believe, but I don't have more info than that and couldn't find a relevant templestay program).
Nice place
백암산을 뒤로하고 있는 고찰 백양사의 고불매(古佛梅)는 대한민국 4대 매화 중 하나로 1947년 부처의 원래 가르침을 기리기 위해 백양사에 고불총림이 결성되면서 ‘고불매’라 칭해져 기품 있고 단아한 자태와 고풍스런 빛깔이 단연 으뜸으로 꼽혀 천연기념물 제486호로 지정되었다하네요
Loved it!