Gaeunsa Temple

Gaeunsa is a Jogye Order temple on the slopes of Gaeunsan, right next to Korea University in Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu. It traces its origins to Yeongdosa, a temple founded by the monk Muhak in 1396, and in the 20th century it became a centre of Buddhist learning, home to a monastic seminary and later a Buddhist university. Ten minutes' walk from the subway, it holds a Goryeo Buddha with a restoration record from 1274 and, nearby, a Goryeo rock-carved bodhisattva.

From Yeongdosa to Gaeunsa

The temple is believed to have begun as Yeongdosa, built near the present site by Muhak in 1396, the fifth year of King Taejo. When Royal Consort Wonbin Hong, a concubine of King Jeongjo, died young in 1779 and her tomb was laid out beside the temple, the temple is said to have been moved to its current spot and renamed Gaeunsa. Records disagree on exactly when it moved and why the name changed. The original Yeongdosa site is now occupied by Korea University buildings.

In the 20th century Gaeunsa became a hub of Buddhist education. A monastic college opened here in 1926, and at Daewonam, a hermitage belonging to the temple, the scholar-monk Park Han-yeong ran a Buddhist academy that trained many leading monks. In the 1970s the monk Tanheo lived at Daewonam while translating Buddhist scriptures, and from 1981 Joong-Ang Sangha University was based here before moving to Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province.

A Buddha with a 1274 inscription

The temple's most important treasure is a wooden seated Amitabha Buddha (Treasure). More than 1 m tall and dating from the late Goryeo period, it comes with a dedication text stating that it was restored in 1274. This is the earliest restoration record found for any late-Goryeo Buddha, which means the statue itself was probably made in the first half of the 13th century at the latest. It was originally enshrined at Chukbongsa in Asan, South Chungcheong. Hwaeom Sutra manuscripts and prints from the 9th to 13th centuries found inside the statue are designated a separate Treasure.

The walls of the main hall also hold 19th-century Buddhist paintings. The Gamnodo of 1883, paid for by some 30 court ladies, shows a rite for the dead together with lively scenes of everyday life at the time. A painting of guardian deities hangs opposite, and a painting of Ksitigarbha and the Ten Kings from 1870 is enshrined alongside.

On to the Botasa rock carving

About 200 m east of Gaeunsa is the small hermitage of Botasa. Behind its main hall, a rock-carved seated bodhisattva (Treasure) fills a rock face about 5 m high. It shows early Goryeo features and is one of only a handful of Goryeo rock carvings left in Seoul. Botasa also keeps a gilt-bronze seated bodhisattva (Treasure) shown sitting at ease with one knee raised.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: From Exit 1 of Anam Station (Line 6), follow the road for about 10 minutes on foot.
• Time needed: Allow about an hour for Gaeunsa and Botasa together, or around two hours if you add the circular trail on Gaeunsan (about 3.4 km).
• When to go: Around Buddha's Birthday the courtyard fills with lanterns, and in autumn the woods of Gaeunsan turn red and gold.
• Etiquette: Monks still practise here, so keep your voice down in the halls and do not take photos during services.
• Information: +82-2-926-4069.