Korea is a very mountainous place, so as a result it is very common for Koreans to enjoy hiking. Today, we hiked a trail in Bukhansan National Park in order to see the Seunggasa Temple located at the top of a mountain.

The trail was very rocky and steep at some points, and we also had to cross over a couple small streams. I enjoyed the challenge and it was a very beautiful place.

Once we eventually got to the entrance of the temple, we still had many steps to climb. There was a sign at the entrance that explains the temple, and in short, it was created to honor the great master Seungga, who was a monk who came from India to Tang China. Seungga was regarded by the Chinese as the incarnation of Avalokitesvara. The temple was destroyed and repaired multiple times, but it contributed to the revival of Buddhism and holds many traditions as well as a lot of history.

At the very top of the temple, there was a big rock that has a large Buddha statue carved into it. It was a very difficult climb, but definitely worth it.

On the way down, we took a different path that was much safer than if we were to try and take the same path we took up. when we got to the bus, we were taken to a place for lunch, then we had a couple hours before we had a cooking class.

At the cooking class, we made bibimbap. Bibimbap is a traditional, simple, yet delicious Korean meal. For Korean meals, it is common to have at least 5 different colors represented within the meal. For bibimbap, it has carrots for orange, mushrooms and beef for brown, chives and lettuce for green, onions for white, and egg for yellow. All of those ingredients get mixed together with rice as well as soy sauce, sesame oil, and a chili paste sauce. The final product was amazing and I hope to be able to make this dish for my family at home.