My second day on Byeonsanbando (변산반도) was spent hiking up the Gwaneumbong peak (관음봉) on the main mountain, looking about Naesosa Temple (내소사), and a drive along Saemangeun Embankment seawall (새만금방조제) for a burger on a bus on Munyeodo Island (무녀도). I spent a few days camping in Byeonsanbando, then spent four days in Jeonju alone, and then with Romana

DAY 2 OF my 7-day TRIP to Byeonsanbando and Jeonju

Gwaneumbong Hike

I got to the Nasosa Temple car park around 10:30 then started walking. I bypassed the big temple there to explore on the way out of my loop. It was very humid and hazy; not the best day for views and a refreshing hike, but I enjoyed it anyway. Glad I brought lots of water with me and a hat! I decided to do the basic, shorter route, not the longer one that goes past a lake; I’ll save that for another trip with an earlier start and less humidity! On the way up, you can see the huge temple complex. The rocks are quite gnarly in this region, not like the rounded granite of Seoul. The bugs (cicada) too were at full volume! A lot of forest and a few view points. Past Gwaneumbong peak and heading back east on the loop, the trail gets more varied and there are better views.

Naesosa Temple

After getting down and passing a few promising restaurants, I had to walk quite a way to get to the Naesosa Temple. I’d kept my entrance ticket so the guy at the gate let me pass. The temple is one of the main Buddhist sects in Korea, Jogye (대한불교조계종). There’s longish walk into the temple area, then grand views of the mountains behind the temple buildings. Some of the buildings are quite old and seem to be originals. There are also a lot of big, cool trees dotted around. I stopped for food at Sanchon Sikdang (산촌식당) for some tasty, healthy bibimbap before driving back to camp for a shower.

Saemangeun Embankment / Seawall

I had time for something else so drove north and west to Saemangeun Embankment (새만금방조제). I’d meant to go on my trip to Gunsan earlier this year, but the threat of snow led me to cancel. The embankment is about 32 kilometres! Halfway along is a set of islands to the west so I turned off and headed to a cafe I’d seen on Instagram called Munyeodo Island (무녀도). Munyeodo Bus Cafe (무녀2구마을버스) is a set of old school busses kitted out with dining tables. I got a coffee and a burger and went to sit on a yellow school bus looking out to a small island in the sea; very pleasant!

This seawall and set of islands seems worthy of more exploring; I’ll head further west to the end next time. There are places to stay and other campsites, so I’ll see if Romana can join me. For today, it was a drive back to camp, buy a beer and watch the sun set, watch Always Sunny, call Romana then sleep!

Places visited this trip (click the ‘door’ icon to see a list):