Mugaksa Temple

In the middle of the office towers of Gwangju's Sangmu district, at the foot of the low hill Yeouisan, Mugaksa is a temple right inside the city. It was founded in 1971 for soldiers of the Sangmudae military base, and after the army left and the surrounding land became May 18th Memorial Park, it turned into a place where anyone can drop in. It has the halls of a traditional temple but also hosts art exhibitions and temple stays, so it makes a calm stop whatever your beliefs.

From army chapel to city temple

Mugaksa was founded in 1971 by Venerable Gusan of Songgwangsa Temple in Suncheon, with support from local Buddhists. At the time this area was home to Sangmudae, the army's combat arms training command, and the temple served as a spiritual refuge for the soldiers. When Sangmudae moved to Jangseong in the early 1990s, the hill became May 18th Memorial Park and Mugaksa became a temple open to the whole city. After Venerable Cheonghak arrived as abbot in 2007, a cultural centre was built and exhibitions and educational programmes grew, giving the temple its present character.

May 18th Memorial Park commemorates the Gwangju Democratic Uprising of May 1980. A chapel for soldiers became a temple inside a park honouring the democracy movement, so the site's own transformation is a small chapter of Gwangju's modern history. That is also why the temple courtyard leads straight onto the park's woodland paths.

What to see

• Gate and courtyard: beyond the gate lies a wide courtyard of white gravel lined with painted halls. You pass beneath a pavilion to reach the main hall, just as in a mountain temple.
• Bamboo grove and lotus court: bamboo surrounds one side of the grounds, and a white lotus sculpture sits in a round court. The tower blocks are right next door, but the bamboo cuts out much of the city noise.
• Lotus Art Space: the exhibition space on the ground floor of the Mugaksa Cultural Centre, opened in May 2010. It shows invited local artists and curated exhibitions and gives young artists a place to exhibit.
• Dharma hall and meditation space: the spacious hall with its golden Buddha is used for services and temple stays. Take off your shoes and step in quietly, and you can sit for a while.

Temple stays and programmes

Mugaksa runs one-day and experience-type temple stays. Short programmes introduce services and meditation, and they are open to anyone aged 8 and over. Bookings are made through the temple's website, and guidance is given in Korean by temple volunteers and lay teachers.

Programmes have names such as "Gaining Experience at Mugaksa", "Culture Day" and "A Journey to Find Myself", and they suit everyone from school groups to solo travellers. Unusually, guidance is also available in Sinhala.

Tripto tips

• Visitor information: the grounds are open 24 hours a day, every day, and entry is free. Parking for about 100 cars is free.
• Getting there: you can walk from Uncheon Station on Gwangju Metro Line 1. The address is 230 Uncheon-ro, Seo-gu.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour for the temple, more if you visit an exhibition.
• Walk on: a path of about 2 km links Mugaksa with May 18th Memorial Park. Combining the memorial spaces with the woodland paths is a good way to reflect on what happened in Gwangju in May 1980.
• When to go: spring, when lanterns go up for Buddha's Birthday, or a summer evening, when the bamboo grove keeps things cool.