Haedong Yonggungsa
Interesting facts
- It is counted among Korea's three great pilgrimage sites of Gwaneum, the bodhisattva of compassion, alongside Naksansa and Boriam.
- According to the temple's own account, the present name came in 1974 after monk Jeongam dreamed of a white-robed Gwaneum rising to heaven on a dragon.
- That vision reportedly came during a hundred-day period of intensive prayer for the temple's restoration.
- The temple's account says the original monastery was called Bomunsa and was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592 to 1598.
- The 1376 founding date is disputed: Korean sources describe the present temple as largely a new creation of the 1970s on former farmland.
- For decades the temple was privately owned, joining the Jogye Order only in 2021 as a branch of Hwaeomsa.
Why it is worth it
Most Korean Buddhist monasteries retreat into the mountains, folding their halls into wooded valleys far from the coast. Haedong Yonggungsa does the opposite. Its buildings stand on a shelf of dark rock directly above the East Sea on the northeastern edge of Busan, so that the surf breaks a few metres below the eaves and the roofs are seen against open water rather than a ridge of pines. That rare seaside setting is the whole spell of the place: incense, painted rafters and the boom of waves arrive together.
The temple traces itself to 1376 and to the monk Naong Hyegeun, a leading teacher of the late Goryeo period, though the complex a visitor sees today was largely built in the twentieth century, and the present name, "Dragon Palace Temple of the Eastern Sea", dates only from 1974. Its devotion centres on Haesu Gwaneum Daebul, the bodhisattva of compassion in her guise as guardian of the sea, whose statue watches over the water from above the main halls.
The approach is part of the experience. A path lined with stone statues of the twelve zodiac animals leads to a stairway of 108 steps, a number that echoes the 108 earthly desires of Buddhist teaching, which drops down through a cleft in the rocks towards the shore. At the bottom the whole ensemble opens up: stupas and stone lanterns on the rocks, gilded halls stepping up the slope, and the open sea alongside. In the weeks before Buddha's Birthday the courtyards are roofed with thousands of paper lanterns, and the temple becomes one of the most photographed sights on the Korean coast; outside the festival season, early in the day, it is a quieter and more contemplative place.
Getting there
The temple lies in Gijang County, about 6 km from the centre of Gijang and on the coastal edge of Busan, a short way north of Haeundae Beach. The nearest airport is Gimhae International Airport (PUS), about 26 km away in a straight line on the far side of the city. From central Busan take the Donghae Line to Osiria Station, then walk about 25–30 minutes following the signs or take local bus 181, which also runs from Haeundae station; the last stretch from the bus stop to the temple is on foot down the stepped path.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Haedong Yonggung Temple is a Buddhist temple in Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea.
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