|
 One
of the smallest nature parks in Korea, the Maisan Provincial Park
is named after the towering twin-peaked mountain Mt. Maisan.
Literally translated to mean “Horse Ears Mountain”, Mt. Maisan features
two peaks that is believed to be of male and female genders: Sut Mai,
the male peak, and Am Mai which is considered the female peak.
It is said that the long ago there were two fairies, a male and a
female, who lived here until one day their creator ordered them to come
home back to heaven where they belonged.
They were warned to take care that no mortal witnesses their flight or
else suffer dire consequences. The two fairies planned to ascend to
heaven on the next full moon so that the moon may illuminate their way.
However,- on the chosen night it became overcast, so they decided to
wait until dawn, but then it became too late - An early rising woman
spotted the two fairies on their way to heaven, and instantly they were
transformed into stone and fell back to the earth, where one can still
can see them to this day, as the strange twin peaks of the mountain
Maisan.
But the two engendered peaks are not all that the mountain has to offer.
Between these two peaks is what is most likely the most bizarre Buddhist
temple in Korea.
The Tapsa temple (Pagoda temple) has an amazing collection of stone
pagodas made by hand by the hermit monk, - Lee Kap-yong- as a symbolic
personal prayer for peace. From about 1885 monk Lee spent more than 30
years building the 130 unique stone pagodas of all shapes and sizes with
heights of up to about 10 meters tall,- all built without the use of
mortar.
The construction of the pagodas themselves is a wonder for even without
mortar, they possess strengths, that even during strong winds cannot
collapse.
While the pagodas are built mostly from local stones, in-between are
mixed stones taken from famous mountains from all over the nation.
Working only at night, Yi spent more than ten years piling these natural
stones up one by one without any mechanical help. Although the highest
stone structure is standing at over 10 meters high, yet they looked as
solid as if they were stuck together by mortar.
Although only about 80 pagodas are preserved today, Lee Kap-yong’s stone
pagodas never fail to impress and cause wonder, because he
single-handedly created and transformed the whole area around the Tapsa
temple to a place surrounded by a strange, surrealistic appeal and a
seemingly out of this world landscape.
The story doesn’t stop there. In local lore, the monk Lee claimed that
he alone can ever have completed such a feat. He said he had help from a
heavenly spirit who descended to Earth each night to help him with it.
The pagodas were said to be an extension of salvation for mankind,
where, in order to strengthen the spirit, the stones were chosen from
celebrated mountains and rivers from all over Korea, in which he used
some for each tower. When Yi died at the age of 98, he had accomplished
a task no one has seen before and had written a Sacred Book that to
date, no one has been able to interpret or decipher. The stone towers
are now regarded as spiritual testaments that something other-worldly
took place at the mountain.
Getting There:
To get to Maisan, you can hop on a bus from Jeonju to Chinan in the
Chollabuk-do province. You can't really miss the stop at Chinan as this
is a rather small place. Apparently, there is only one bus stop in the
first street you see after you pass the city limits. From that bus stop,
cross over to the other side of the road and grab yourself tickets to
Maisan. This is also where the bus departs. The bus ride will take you
about 50 minutes from Jeonju.
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