[#Liam's Tour Diary] Make your special day at the Donghaksa and the Gyeryongsan Pottery Village

For those looking to stay for more than a few years in South Korea, investing in their own transport makes sense for a variety of reasons. Just the ability to travel anywhere makes all the difference in exploring places that few see. One could also suggest the same for a bicycle around a city, which is obviously healthier, but to go further and quicker outside the town is quite a buzz, to say the least. Slipping between the waiting cars held in place by a very archaic and frustrating traffic light system makes every journey on a motorbike that little more magical.

One of the most important roads for me as a biker living in Daejeon was and still is #32. This road is one of the main ways that cut through the entire city, passing closely with Dunsandong. Heading west on this road will take traffic west out of the town and eventually arriving in Yesan. Although I would never ride on it that far, as connecting with the #36 road along the way would take me to my very own beach. This special place I jokingly label ‘William Beach’ to students and friends’.  In time I will write more on this route and the locations along the way. However, with road #32, I would regularly ride this when meeting other biker pals, and still, to this day, it’s the road that connects me from my new home in Gongju.
 
The first location to visit for anyone heading west from Daejeon is Donghaksa. While I write this article, I actually sit in the ‘Awesome Cafe’ in Donghaksa, a revolving space on its third floor, which slowly delivers a three hundred and sixty-degree view. I would say that it’s probably the most impressive coffee spots I have ever been to in the world, as the coffee shop size alone with three floors, including a basement and a connecting garden makes me feel like I am in more of a coffee theme park.

Donghaksa literally translates into ‘The Temple’, a woman’s Buddhist temple hiding up the forest path that climbs into the mountains. Just entering the area is quite breathtaking, as the quick contrast from leaving the city-space to mountain range is quite sudden. 

One can also visit without a motorbike as two bus trips will drop passengers at the mountain bus station, a short walk from the entrance temple. I believe the 102 will take folk to the National Cemetery subway, and then change for the 17. Please check the local bus times.

Spending the day here will provide breathtaking mountain views and the feeling that you are very far from any city. There are many coffee shops and restaurants with a variety of traditional Korean cuisine. Yet, it can be a tourist trap too, so the occasional pretentious cafe bar restaurant with a swimming pool could be an option, don’t ever expect that swimming is allowed even on hot days.

The beauty of the motorbike is the option of choices. I could decide to ride up to the temple and enjoy a coffee on a balcony with a mountain backdrop, watching all the excited hikers head up the trail. I could also decide to ride a little past the village area and find a mountain stream we know so well. However, today, I was curious about a small road near the main road intersection. On this day, I headed down this and captured the sunset on the pottery village just a few kilometers away. This village I have not explored as much, but it too has the essence of being far from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

The more I explore all the turn-offs and side roads, the more I discover the variety of unique little villages set into the mountains and almost lost in time. These two places are a little more developed than some, so easy to find a quiet spot for brunch or just a coffee rest stop. Walking around the pottery village and the feeling of a smaller theme village comes to mind, almost like I have found a Korean Shire (ref: Lord of the Rings).

Life is definitely a lot slower than usual in these places, always the best places to take in for cafe riding.
Both Donghaksa and the pottery village are off the #32 road heading west. Each location is within riding distance, and at least one is accessible by bus. If I didn’t have a bike to find these places, I really don’t know what I would be doing within myself living in Korea. These days my whole life revolves around where I am riding the bike to.

For more info about Donghaksa (Donghak Temple), please visit 

Donghaksa(동학사) Official Homepage

(Address: 462, Donghaksa 1-ro, Banpo-myeon, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do)

For more info about Gyeryongsan Pottery Village, please visit

Gyeryongsan Pottery Village(계룡산 도예촌) 

(Address: 71-25, Doyechon-gil, Banpo-myeon, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do)

For more info about Gongju city, please visit

Gongju City Official Tour Homepage