Samhwasa Temple (Donghae)

Enter Mureung Valley, which runs between Dutasan and Cheongoksan in Donghae, and you will find Samhwasa close to its mouth. The name means "harmony of three", a wish attributed to Wang Geon, founder of the Goryeo dynasty. It is a natural stop at the start or end of a valley hike, and it guards an iron Buddha of real importance to the history of the Korean language.

History: a temple that prayed for harmony

Samhwasa is said to have been founded in 642, the 11th year of Queen Seondeok of Silla, by the monk Jajang, who called it Heungnyeondae. In 864 the monk Beomil rebuilt it under a new name, recorded either as Samgongam or Sanggongam depending on the source, and the temple switched from the doctrinal school to Seon (Zen).

Wang Geon, the future King Taejo of Goryeo, prayed here for the unification of the Later Three Kingdoms. Once he succeeded, he is said to have renamed it Samhwasa in the hope that Goryeo, Later Baekje and Silla would put their conflicts behind them. After the founding of Joseon, the temple was designated to hold the Suryukjae, a Buddhist rite to console the spirits of the last Goryeo royals.

The temple went through many ordeals. Floods and landslides destroyed it in 1747 and it was rebuilt a little higher up; after a fire in 1820 it was rebuilt again in 1824. In 1907 the Japanese army set it alight on the grounds that anti-Japanese militia had stayed there, and around 200 kan of buildings, including the main hall and meditation hall, were lost.

What to see

• Iron Seated Rocana Buddha (Treasure): a Unified Silla iron Buddha in Daejeokgwangjeon. It was long thought to be a Medicine Buddha, until an inscription of 161 characters on its back was deciphered, revealing a Rocana Buddha made in the mid-9th century. The text is written in Idu, a system that used Chinese characters to write Korean word order, making it valuable for the history of the Korean language.
• Three-Storey Stone Pagoda (Treasure): a 4.95 m Goryeo-period pagoda whose balanced proportions give it a calm, stable look.
• Stupas and stele: the stupa of the monk Sangjun and the stupa and stele of the monk Wongok stand in the grounds.
• Suryukjae: a Buddhist rite to comfort lonely spirits of water and land. The Samhwasa Suryukjae is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Good to know

Yi Seung-hyu, author of the late-Goryeo history in verse Jewang Ungi, built a house called Yonganang near Samhwasa and wrote the book there. After some ten years of reading sutras, he donated the house to the temple, and it became a hermitage named Ganjangam.

Mureung Valley

Samhwasa is enclosed by Dutasan and Cheongoksan. The Mureung Valley stream in front of the temple is famous for its broad rock slabs and clear water; beyond the temple a series of waterfalls follows, and a nearby trail climbs to Beteul Rock. With valley, mountains and sea all close at hand, it makes a full day out on an East Coast trip.

Tripto tips

• Access: the temple is open all year.
• Parking: use the Mureung Valley car park: KRW 2,000 for cars, KRW 5,000 for large vehicles, and KRW 1,000 for Donghae-registered cars and light cars.
• Combine with a hike: beyond the temple, the trail up Mureung Valley leads past waterfalls and broad rock slabs into Dutasan. Allow half a day with the valley walk.
• Templestay: both relaxation and experience programmes are offered, a quiet base between valley, mountains and sea.
• Time needed: 40 minutes to 1 hour for the temple alone.