Buyeo

Buyeo, previously known as Sabi, was one of the ancient capitals of the Baekje Dynasty, established in 18 BC and existed for 700 years until 660 AD. Buyeo is southwest of Gongju and west of Daejeon. This town is not a major tourist destination, but it has many nice tourist sites. There are temples, graves, and quiet nature walks, and all of these with a relaxed and uncrowded atmosphere.

This town is not on the train line. If you don't have your own vehicle, you can take a bus for part or all of the journey.

The town is small enough to be walkable. The bus terminal is located right in the dead center of the town, and most of the major sights are located about 2 or 3 "blocks" away from the terminal, making the town a very walkable place.

Several of the World Heritage listed Baekje sites can be found in Buyeo and its surroundings, namely the Archeological site in Gwanbuk-ri and Busosanseong Fortress, the Jeongnimsa Temple, the Royal Tombs in Neungsan-ri and the Naseong City wall.

• 🌍 Buso Mountain Fortress (부소산성) (North of the rotary.). winter 08:00-17:00, spring-fall 08:00-18:00. Busosanseong is a park showcasing the ancient fortresses through wooden-covered paths around the park. Some of the prime sights are: Samchungsa Temple (where they honour three servants from China), Yeongillu Pavilion, Soldiers' Huts, Banwolli Pavilion (with the best sights of the town of Buyeo below), Gungnyeosa Shrine, Sajaru Pavilion, Nakwaam Rock (where legends have it that 3,000 women threw themselves to death below into the river after their empire being invaded by the Chinese forces), and Goransa Temple (it is said that drinking a cup of the spring water at the temple would make you three years younger.). ₩1500. 
• 🌍 Jeongnisima Temple and Museum (In the eastern part of downtown area on Gongnam-ro, 5-10 minutes walk east from the bus terminal.). winter 09:00-17:00, spring-fall 09:00-18:00. A complex with the ruins of the lotus pond, Buddha statue and a 1,500 years old five-storied pagoda, with a museum on-site showing some of the history of the Baekje Dynasty in Buyeo. There is an impressive 65% scale model of the temple grounds surrounded by a gate and perimeter walls, located inside the museum. It appears that they are undergoing excavation of the site, and possibly rebuilding the entire site again. ₩1500. 
• 🌍 Buyeo National Museum, Geumseong-ro 1 (About 3 blocks SE of Jeongnisma Temple.), ☏ +82 41-833-8562. Nov-Mar: M-F 09:00-18:00, Sa Su 09:00-19:00; Apr-Oct: Sa Su 09:00-21:00. Exhibition halls housing artifacts discovered through archaeological diggings, most spanning through the Sabi era of the Baekje Dynasty. Over 13,000 items in the museum. Free. 
• 🌍 Seodong Park (서동요 역사관광지), 279 Gahwa-ri, Chunghwa-myeon, ☏ +82 41-832-9913. 09:00-17:00 (Closed at Monday). An interesting park where the grounds are mostly covered by pond water in lotus shape. One can walk on stone paths, or one of the numerous pathways around the pond with a pavilion in the centre, connected by a long wooden bridge. They claim that this was one of the first man-made parks in Korea. On a site to the east closer to the Hwaji Mountain, there is a monument dedicated to 5,000 militaries. Free. 
• 🌍 Baekje Historical Park (국립부여박물관), Hapjeong-ri 575 (On the northern side of the river.), ☏ +82 41-833-8562. spring-fall 09:00-18:00, winter 09:00-17:00. A historical theme park consisting of a royal palace, temples, historical museums and traditional villages. There is also Baekje Historical Museum onsite. ₩9,000. 
• 🌍 Baekje Royal Tombs Park (백제왕릉원), Neungsan-ri 16-1 (About 4km east from Busosanseong Fortress.), ☏ +82 41-830-2880. 08:00-18:00. Site with seven tombs of the Baekje Royal families. There is a Baekje Gobun Museum with exhibitions about the tombs. ₩1,000. 
• Muryangsa Temple: located at Mt. Mansusan, this is the largest temple in Buyeo. There are important cultural properties listed on the site, such as Geungnakjeon Hall, and Five-storied Pagoda. There are several hiking paths through the mountains around the temple.
• Ssalbawi and Suribawi rocks: interesting rock formations near Muryangsa Temple.
• Seongheungsanseong Fortress and Daejosa Temple - a 10-metre-high standing Buddha stone, one of the largest single-rock Buddha images that were popular during early Goryeo period.
• Three storey stone pagoda in Jangha-ri.
• Cheongmasanseong Fortress and hiking trails through the mountains
• 🌍 Donam-seowon (E of Buyeo). Confucian academy, one of nine to make up the world heritage site Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies. (updated Jul 2019)

• Buyeo Oh-il Market (West of the bus terminal.). This traditional market is open five days a week. 

On the main street, Sabi-ro, there are many chain restaurants like Lotteria, Mister Donut, Paris Baguette Cafe, and Eiffel Bakery. Also of note is the Bomjuk Slow-Food Korean Porridge Restaurant at the traffic circle.

On Gnognam-ro, the next main street to the east, there are many Korean restaurants, some pizza, Japanese sushi, and Dolimites, an ice cream shop.

For a more up-scale dinner, try the street along the foothill of Busosanseong Fortress, Seongwang-ro. There are some noodle places, some steak places, and some fish places here.

The area between the bus terminal and Jeongsima Temple has a large number of motels and hotels. Hotels can be identified by the neon signs on the top of the building along with the Korean letters 모텔. Another way to recognize one is a sign that looks like a bowl with steam coming out of it.

• 🌍 Guesthouse Madang (여행자숙소 마당), 501-2 Dongnam-ri (between Buyeo busterminal and Gungnamji (Historic-pond)), ☏ +82 10 7470-8507, haein6788@gmail.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 11:00. Madang is guesthouse for backpacker. It is very close to the world heritage in Buyeo. You can go to MaDang from Buyeo-Terminal just five minutes. ₩20,000. 
• 🌍 Samjeong Buyeo Youth Hostel, 105-1 Gukyo-ri (From the main traffic circle, go half a kilometer north. The hotel is a large building on the east side of the road.), ☏ +82 41 8353102, fax: +82 41 8353791, buyeoyh@daum.net. This youth hostel is part of a large and aging hotel. The youth hostel rooms are hotel rooms with two bunk beds in each. Each of these rooms has a TV and bathroom. In winter, the hot water might only be lukewarm. ₩16,000. 
• 🌍 VIP Motel (VIP 모텔), Seongchung-ro 701, ☏ +82 041-832-3700. 
• 🌍 Swel Motel (쉘모텔), Chungcheong-ro 265-1, ☏ +82 041-835-8899. 
• 🌍 Brodwe Yeogwan (브로브웨이여관), Chungcheongnam-ro 234, ☏ +82 041-833-9900. 

Buyeo isn't a major foreign tourist town, so don't expect people to speak much English.

• 🌍 Tourist Information Office, 77, Gwanbuk-ri (In the front of the Busosanseong Gate at the foot of the mountain.), ☏ +82 041 830-2880. 
• 🌍 Buyeo Post Office (부여우체국) (at the corner of Sabi-ro and Jeja-sil just east of the bus terminal), ☏ +82 41-832-2005. 

• Gongju. Another former capital from the Baekje Dynasty.
• Boryeong. A popular summer beach town west of Buyeo.
• Nonsan. Strawberries are the most famous in Korea.