Best Things In Gongju

Chungcheongnam-do History Museum is a space displaying Korean artifacts, art, and more. We didn’t actually go inside, since it was closed when we arrived. The real reason we came is because of the amazing cherry blossoms. There are three major spots to take pictures with the cherry blossoms around this museum. There are huge trees whose branches drape around the arches of the walls. It’s so beautiful as the trees are so tall and fills the frame with blossoms. Near the arches is cherry blossom hill. The hill is surrounded by cherry blossoms filling the sky.

Not many places make me feel like I’m in a K-drama, but this place did. The pavilion surrounded by massive old trees makes it the perfect place to sit down and admire. The third spot is down from the hill which is near the front of the museum. From above there is an excellent view of the Catholic Church. It is a popular photo background for cherry blossoms in Gongju. Luckily, Gongju has so many cherry blossoms in the city that we had no shortage of spots and places to check out.

We originally decided to go to Magoksa Temple to see more cherry blossoms. Sadly, none were in bloom yet due to the cold temperature of the mountain. There’s a lot of other cool things here, so we decided to keep exploring. Magoksa is one of the seven temples in the Sansa world heritage group. These are seven Buddhist temples located on mountains all across Korea. They feature the architectural style of the 7th to 9th century, during which time Korea united into one kingdom. Because of this, these UNESCO world heritage sites are all in similar styles despite large distances around the country.

Magoksa is located about 30 minutes away from Gongju, far in the hills of Chungcheongnam-do. Because of the drive, it’s not easy to visit if you don’t have a car, but it’s worth it if you can make it. There is a large stream running through the grounds, and large old trees provide shade over the temple halls. You can do a temple stay here, which would be incredible on such a secluded and beautiful property. Even though the cherry blossoms weren’t fully bloomed, it was a great time walking around and enjoying Koreas ancient architecture and religion.

Eungubi is a specialty coffee shop located on the outskirts of Gongju that opened 2022. Michael loves trying specialty coffee everywhere we go, but I was surprised to see a craft coffee shop in this small city. Eungubi has a large pour over menu with a wide variety of beans to choose from. They have ground beans that you can smell to help choose which beans you would like to order. Michael had a really hard time choosing as they had so many great roasts. As well as serving specialty coffee, they have cute desserts and a small non-coffee menu.

After coffee, the weather started to get really nice, so we wanted to get outside. We went to Yeonmisan Nature Art Park, an outdoor art museum displaying sculptures from artists around the world. Gongju’s mascot is a bear, and there are some bear installations at the park. We were there not just to explore the park, but we wanted to see the famous wooden bear structure. Little did we know that we could climb inside and enter the bear’s mouth and eyes. It was a “bear”able experience.

The area was a lot bigger than we thought and thankfully the staff gave us a map. There are many interesting art pieces and some are very interactive as we could go inside the structures. All of the sculptures had a label in English, which really helped us understand some of the pieces. Yeonmisan Nature Art Park really surprised us as we didn’t expect to be in a large hilly forests with so many interesting art pieces. We felt like kids just running around and exploring our surroundings. Now I understand why this a must visit in Gongju.

We really loved the back section of the fortress, where the trees make it feel like a hike in the mountains. There are also amazing views over the city, and at the time we visited the cherry blossoms at the top were incredible as well. You can easily spend a few hours at the fortress enjoying the scenery and learning about the history of the Baekje Kingdom. Climbing the walls definitely requires high mobility, but you can enjoy the park and the views from the hills without needing to go on any stairs.

Ajeossi Coffee is one of the most trendiest coffee shops in Gongju. On most Korean blogs I’ve read, Ajeossi Coffee has came up. I wanted to see what the hype was. Ajeossi in Korean means old man, which checks out as this coffee is ran by a grandfather. This shop is very small and very hard to get seating at, especially on the weekends. Luckily, we were able to grab a seat on the second floor. Ajeossi Coffee has exclusively coffee, with one alternative option of tea. They even offer pour overs  which I was surprised by.

Michael tried the Ethiopia pour over and I drank their fruit tea. I’ve never heard of this fruit before as it primarily grows in Asia. It had a slightly wheaty taste and was more traditional style as it was hand brewed. Michael’s pour over was fine, as he usually doesn’t prefer dark roasted beans. Even though it was small, I loved the interior as it felt like being in an attic with knick knacks, paintings, and plants. I could really feel the owners personality as it was vintage with many unique touches.