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Geumsansa Temple – 금산사 (Gijang-gun, Busan)
Temple History Geumsansa Temple is located in Gijang-gun, Busan, and it belongs to the Jogye-jong Order. The temple was first established in October, 1990 by the monk Geumsan; and hence, where the temple gets its name. In January, 2004, the temple added a large Reclining Buddha image inside the main hall. Also, and it’s unclear of the connection between the two, but the Sanshin-do (Mountain Spirit Mural) of Geumsansa Temple is Busan Cultural Heritage Property #85 as of 2015. The painting of Sanshin dates back to 1856. And it’s a wonderful example of a mid-19th century shaman painting. It’s unclear of the paintings present location. Temple Layout You first approach…
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Bokcheonsa Temple – 복천사 (Yeongdo-gu, Busan)
Temple History Bokcheonsa Temple is located in Yeongdo-gu, Busan on the west side of Mt. Bongraesan (396.2 m). According to tradition, it’s believed that Bokcheonsa Temple was founded by the monk Naong Hyegeun (1320-1376) at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). However, the exact date of the temple’s founding remains unknown. At the time of its founding, Bokcheonsa Temple was known as Haeunam Hermitage. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Yeong-do Island was known as Jeolyeong-do Island. It was at this time that the island was closed off to the general public for a couple of reasons. First, it was to protect the land from Japanese pirates. Secondly, the land…
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Haeinjeongsa Temple – 해인정사 (Saha-gu, Busan)
Temple History Haeinjeongsa Temple is located in Saha-gu, Busan. It’s located on the lower south-western slopes of Mt. Gudeoksan (545.3 m). Haeinjeongsa Temple is a modern temple. It first started being built in August, 1999. It has an overall size of 5,000 pyeong, or nearly 16,529 square metres. The first of the temple structures to be built was the main hall, the Daejeokgwang-jeon Hall, which started to be built in June, 2000. And the Daejeokgwang-jeon Hall was completed in 2003. In total, there are half a dozen temple shrine halls for visitors to explore at Haeinjeongsa Temple. Temple Layout To get to the temple, you’ll first need to ascend a…
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Wonhyodae Temple – 원효대 (Gijang-gun, Busan)
Temple History Wonhyodae Temple is located in Gijang-gun in eastern Busan. Wonhyodae Temple is located up a long valley just to the south-east of Mt. Daleumsan (588.1 m). Wonhyodae Temple is named after the famous monk Wonhyo-daesa (617-686 A.D.), who lived and taught in this part of Busan during the 7th century. In fact, it’s believed that Wonhyodae Temple is located near what was a Silla-era temple named Chwijeongsa Temple, which no longer exists, but was founded by Wonhyo-daesa. And just to the east lies the much smaller Daedosa Temple. The temple site for Wonhyodae Temple is quite large at nearly 8,000 m2. It was first founded in October, 1898.…
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Anjeoksa Temple – 안적사 (Gijang-gun, Busan)
Temple History Anjeoksa Temple was founded by Wonhyo-daesa (617-686 A.D.) in the first year of King Munmu of Silla’s reign in 661 A.D. to the west of Mt. Gamdimsan (308.4 m) in Gijang-gun, Busan. There is no early documented history about Anjeoksa Temple besides who founded it. With that being said, there is writing indicating that the temple was once named Unbongsa Temple. Also, there is architectural evidence at Anjeoksa Temple of a stone pagoda, roof tiles, earthenware, and more on the grounds, which points to the fact that Anjeoksa Temple existed at the end of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C. – 935 A.D.) and/or the start of the Goryeo…
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Geumgangam Hermitage – 금강암 (Geumjeong-gu, Busan)
Hermitage History Geumgangam Hermitage, which means “Diamond Hermitage” in English, is one of the more popular hermitages on the Beomeosa Temple grounds in Geumjeong-gu, Busan. Although there is no way to confirm whether Geumgangam Hermitage existed before the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), there are records that show that it was constructed in 1803 by the monk Chuigyu-seonsa. Since its foundation, Geumgangam Hermitage has been reconstructed twice; first in 1863 and then again in 1899. More recently, and during the 1980’s, Geumgangam Hermitage, which was a smaller mountain hermitage, started to gradually gain in popularity. It’s from this popularity that the hermitage began to grow in both size and influence. Like…
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Dongmyeong Bulwon – 동명불원 (Nam-gu, Busan)
Temple History Dongmyeong Bulwon is located in the southern part of Busan in Nam-gu. In fact, it’s situated just south of the U.N. Cemetery in Busan and just north of Mt. Bongorisan (173.3 m). The name of the temple might sound a bit strange because it doesn’t end with the common “sa” suffix. Instead, the temple is considered a “Bulwon” which means “The Buddha’s Oath” in English. What this specifically means is a reference to the Buddha making an oath to save all sentient beings. Dongmyeong Bulwon is a modern temple. It was first opened on May 22nd, 1977. In total, the Dongmyeong Bulwon grounds measure 2,700 pyeong, or 9,000…
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Haeunjeongsa Temple – 해운정사 (Haeundae-gu, Busan)
Temple History Hyanggok-seonsa (1912-1978), who was the founding monk of Haeunjeongsa Temple, was wandering all over Korea in an attempt to find a perfect place to build a temple. And the reason that Hyanggok-seonsa wanted to build a temple is that he wanted to help rescue people’s souls. Eventually, he arrived in Haeundae, Busan. More specifically, he found the perfect place for a temple at the base of Mt. Jangsan (634 m) to the south and east of the diminutive Mt. Bongdaesan (147.7 m). The reason that Hyanggok-seonsa decided to build Haeungjeongsa Temple where it’s located is that he believed that Mt. Jangsan looked like a seated female lion. And…
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Haegwangsa Temple – 해광사 (Gijang-gun, Busan)
Temple History and Myth Haegwangsa Temple is a seaside temple located in Gijang-gun, Busan. The temple was first built about one hundred years ago by the monk Kim Mokam-sunim. As for the myth surrounding the creation of the temple, originally Kim Mokam-sunim was a farmer. In fact, the land used for the creation of Haegwangsa Temple used to be his farmland. One day after finishing up his work, Kim took a shower. It was during this shower that he found a wooden statue of the Buddha, which had drifted up towards him from the sea. As soon as he held and hugged the statue, Kim felt a strange power take…
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Hongbeopsa Temple – 홍법사 (Geumjeong-gu, Busan)
Temple History Hongbeopsa Temple is located in the very northern part of Busan in Geumjeong-gu to the west of Mt. Cheolmasan (605.3 m). The name of the temple means “Spreading the Word of Buddhism” in English. Hongbeopsa Temple was first built in 2003. Hongbeopsa Temple was converted from farmland into the temple we see today. And this modern temple has a very modern design, which will be made plain by some of the pictures below. Hongbeopsa Temple was built through the large donation of a female lay devotee, Ha Domyeonghwa-bosal. Another interesting little bit of information is that Hongbeopsa Temple is home to a bust of Gandhi (1869-1948). You can…