You stayed in Gimhae for three days, then took a bus to Gyeongju in the late afternoon. Before that, you had spent nearly a week wandering alone on the slopes of Jirisan Mountain - the second highest mountain in South Korea. It was cold, and the cornflowers had not yet bloomed in that mountainous area. You decided to go to Gyeongju because you just wanted to go to a small city, with old houses and old cars, away from the city air, old roofs, clean brick roads, just breathing would make you feel peaceful. And you would slowly, peacefully go drinking coffee alone, going out to eat. All wrapped up in that peaceful atmosphere of Gyeongju.
Perhaps not many people know about Gyeongju, because when talking about South Korea, people will remember the colorful Seoul, the Gangnam Oppa with the fun horse dance, the bustling fashion shopping areas. Maybe people will remember Busan, on the train from Seoul to this port city. You are different, you like to explore quiet places. You travel alone, so you should prioritize going slowly, enjoying the ancient cities, finding distant nostalgia from the gentle and soft breaths of the ancient cultural space that Gyeongju still retains today. This ancient town used to be the capital of the Silla Dynasty - and this place is known as the golden city of Kim Chi. About 350 km from Seoul - but if you go from Busan, it will take less than two hours to reach the peaceful atmosphere of Gyeongju.
It is true that Khanh Chau is very calm. The cotton flowers bloom on both sides of the road. The most abundant thing in this ancient town, besides temples and pagodas, is flowers. This is a famous place to see peach blossoms, peach blossom trees are everywhere, on every street corner, on every road. Everything here is elegant and gentle. You come when the peach blossoms have faded, but in return, the cotton flowers are in full bloom.
The first night you walk to an ancient citadel, located in the center of the ancient town. The ancient citadel at night is brightly lit, with watchtowers and deep moats, enough to know the ancient golden past. Then you are too busy playing so there is no bus to go home, so you have to walk. Khanh Chau goes to bed very early, at 9 pm the lights are turned off, everyone returns home, the bus also stops operating. The cold night, staggering steps on the empty wide roads, only two rows of cotton trees as companions. So the scent of the flowers, suddenly too strong.
Actually, you don’t even know the name of this flower. It looks like the milk flower, a famous pure and elegant flower of Hanoi’s spring, but here people certainly don’t call this flower that. You go online to find information, randomly typing into the computer about a white flower in Khanh Chau, and finally find this name - cotton flower. Actually, all over South Korea, cotton flowers are everywhere. But then you go to many places, your heart only lingers on the cotton flower of Khanh Chau ancient town.
The following days, you stroll through the streets of this ancient town. Go up the mountain, visit the Bulguksa temple complex, located halfway up the mountain. The ancient architecture of the temple is still preserved intact, and is considered the most sacred and beautiful temple in South Korea. You visit Yangdong village - walking, a distance of nearly five kilometers, beyond imagination - to reach the village. The road from the highway to the village is deserted and desolate, with only the cotton flowers on both sides of the road to keep you company. Flowers are blooming all over the sky, clusters of flowers are tender, the road is sparsely populated, so with just one step, a gentle breeze blows and each branch of flower rustles in welcome, as if wanting to hold your feet.
Yangdong Village has a feng shui based on the terrain of mountains and rivers and is divided into rows of tile-roofed houses of the nobles on the high ground, contrasting with the old houses of the commoners on the low ground. The distribution and architectural style of the houses in the village clearly reflect the social structure, living customs and Confucian aristocratic culture of the Joseon Dynasty - the prosperous dynasty of the ancient Korean people.
Leaving Khanh Chau in the late afternoon, leaving behind a season of brilliant cotton flowers, peaceful street corners and roads. This ancient town does not have many international tourists, most of them are local people. Do you think, maybe because the ancient town is too quiet, so only those with good fate choose to visit this place? Then you are really lucky, because there is a season of cotton flowers that will stay forever in your heart.
