Daegu is famous for its stunning temples along the Mt Palgong mountain range. The two most prominent ones are the Gatbawi stone statue wearing a cap and the Donghwasa Temple complex. There are other complexes along the range such as Pagyesa and Buinsa.

(see blog entry Pagyesa and the Palgong Mountain Temple Trail http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/londone7/1/1323025870/tpod.html )

This weekends trip was to Mt Palgong in the north of Daegu where they were going to have a Cherry Blossom festival by Donghwasa Temple. When we arrived the festival was in full swing although the cherry blossom was not out yet, although in the rest of the city they were already falling down. 

Mt Palgong being slightly higher elevation seems to be delayed by a week for the blossoms to bloom. However, the festival area was still packed full. There was a drag artist we've seen at other festivals, and many other types of typical festival vendors.

A friend of mine was stopped and interviewed by Korean TV. I've noticed a few times now that tv crews will not pick me and choose a 'western looking' person beside me even though I could have answered their questions in korean. 

After that we walked over to Donghwasa Temple which had 2500w admission ($2). The main entrance to the grounds is a giant archway which traffic passes thru after paying admission fees. Inside the doorway is a pair of giant gods either side to ward off evil spirits from entering.

The road then leads down a short way over a bridge to the main temple area. In one of the buildings they have giant gods again to protect the inner complex from evil spirits. The complex was much more colourfully decorated with hanging lanterns than the last time I came in the winter. 

The complex is a collection of small and medium sized buildings housing various buddha shrines. Once finished you can take another path (which was decorated with hanging lanterns during this visit) to another area with the giant buddha statue.

The giant white statue is in a large oval plaza facing a large temple building. When I last came in the winter 2010 the whole plaza was closed for renovations. From other peoples pictures this was going on for almost a year, but now all the construction work was complete and fully open to the public. 

Around the statue it was decorated again with hanging lanterns. The outer wall of the oval is decorated with carvings of many figures, either warriors or gods. There were then entrances to go below the plaza which I hadnt seen on my previous visit.

When you go into the below ground complex you must remove your shoes and wear slippers provided. Its a small museum with exhibits about the temple and the monks. This leads you to a replica cave with stones where you can sit in dim lighting and meditate. 

The shape of the complex was that of an oval mirroring the shape above ground. I thought we were done but there was another interesting chamber in the centre. This was a large circular room with gold carved murals along the inner wall. In other places were stone carvings of the sleeping buddha's feet.   

This was a surprising and interesting underground complex, what all the construction work for the last year was all about. We then went into the large temple building facing the giant statue. 

This was a giant prayer hall filled with prayer mats and beautifully decorated artwork all over the ceiling beams. From the windows we had a nice view of the statue framed in the window architecture with tiny buddhas placed in the table in front. We didnt get to see any cherry blossom as planned this weekend but it was a fun excursion nonetheless.

To get to Donghwasa temple take Rapid 1 bus from Jungangno downtown or Dongdaegu KTX station. Or, you can ask in the tourist info office outside Dongdaegu station and there is a tourist bus for 5000w that will also bring you to the temple. 

Here are some pics from my first trip to Donghwasa in the winter when it was covered in ice 
http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/londone7/1/1292270356/tpod.html