Ganworam Hermitage, Seosan

Off Ganwoldo in Buseok-myeon, Seosan, Ganworam is a tiny hermitage you can walk to at low tide and that becomes an island when the tide comes in. At high water it seems to float on the sea; at low water a path across the seabed leads to its courtyard. Sunsets over the Yellow Sea draw most visitors in the late afternoon.

Where a monk found enlightenment watching the moon

The hermitage is said to have been founded by Muhak, the royal preceptor of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon dynasty. Muhak is said to have gained enlightenment here while gazing at the moon, so the hermitage was named Ganworam ("moon-viewing hermitage") and the island Ganwoldo. Another legend says he sent King Taejo eorigul-jeot, spicy fermented oysters made from Ganwoldo's oysters.

However, the 1530 gazetteer Sinjeung Dongguk yeoji seungnam mentions Ganwoldo but not the hermitage, so some think it was actually founded in the late Joseon period. It closed at the end of Joseon and was rebuilt in modern times by the monk Mangong; sources give the date as 1914 or 1941. It was registered as a traditional temple in 2016.

What to see on the islet

• Gwaneumjeon and the mountain-spirit shrine: the Gwaneum hall holds a Buddhist painting associated with prayers for the safe return of people who work at sea. A wooden seated Bodhisattva (a South Chungcheong provincial heritage) thought to date from around 1600 is also kept here.
• Spindle tree: a gnarled spindle tree about 200 years old grows in the courtyard, a good spot to sit and look out over the water.
• Oyster rite: every year at high tide on the first full moon of the lunar year, villagers hold a rite for a good oyster harvest in front of the eorigul-jeot monument in Ganwoldo-ri, with women in white dancing their way to the monument.

How Muhak got his name

Seosan also has a legend about Muhak's name. A woman on her way to market to sell fermented oysters gave birth by the road and left the baby in the woods. When she returned she found a crane sheltering the child with its wings; it flew off crying "muhak", and so she named her son Muhak.

Muhak's walking-stick tree

Another legend says that when Muhak left Ganworam he planted a stick in the courtyard and said, "When this tree dies, you will know I have died." Some locals claim to have seen the tree alive in their childhood, so it may not have died long ago. The Buddhist painting in the Gwaneum hall resembles Seonmyo, the woman who, legend says, became a dragon to protect the monk Uisang and Buseoksa temple.

Ganwoldo village

The village in front of the hermitage is known for oysters and eorigul-jeot. With the oyster monument at the village entrance and the Ganwoldo coastal trail along the shore, waiting for the tide is never dull.

Tripto tips

• Check the tide: you can walk to Ganworam only at low tide. A ferry once ran at high tide but was stopped after accidents. Check the Ganwoldo tide table on the Seosan tourism website before you go.
• Admission: free, with a car park that gets busy on weekend afternoons.
• Best time: sunset is the favourite. Pick a day when low tide and sunset coincide and you can cross the path and stay for the evening light.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to an hour to cross and look around.
• Take care: once the tide turns the path floods quickly. Leave well before the time on the tide table and watch your step on wet rocks.
• Combine with: oyster rice and eorigul-jeot in Ganwoldo village, Buseoksa temple nearby or the Ganwoldo coastal trail.