Discover verified churches & monasteries — descriptions, map and practical info.
Churches & monasteries
칠곡군
On a hill above the Nakdong River in Waegwan, Chilgok, stands the red-brick Gasil Catholic Church. Its parish was founded in 1895, making it one of the oldest in Gyeongsang, and the present church, consecrated in 1924, turned 100 in 2024.…
Churches & monasteries
강화군
Halfway up Nakgasan on Seongmodo island in Ganghwa, Bomunsa is counted, together with Naksansa in Yangyang and Boriam on Geumsan in Namhae, as one of Korea's three great seaside sanctuaries of Avalokitesvara. People come for the cave hall…
Churches & monasteries
경산시
On the summit of Gwanbong, on the southern side of Palgongsan, a stone Buddha wearing a flat stone hat sits against a screen of rock. Officially the Stone Seated Buddha at Gwanbong Peak of Palgongsan, it is known to everyone as Gatbawi, th…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
Stairs and railings cling to a yellowish cliff riddled with holes, and from the highest point a Buddha gazes out towards the East Sea. Golgulsa is a cave temple at the foot of Hamwolsan near Gyeongju. Twelve caves open in a tuff cliff tens…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
On the slopes of Hamwolsan, east of Gyeongju and not far from the East Sea, Girimsa sits quietly in the forest. It was once the largest temple in the Gyeongju area, so large that Bulguksa was at one point its branch temple, but its remote…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
Next to the Hwangnyongsa temple site in Gyeongju, a small temple courtyard holds what looks like a dark brick tower. Up close, it turns out to be made of stone cut one piece at a time into the shape of bricks. The Bunhwangsa stone brick pa…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
Oksan Seowon is a Joseon-period Confucian academy beside a mountain stream in Angang, Gyeongju. It was founded to honour the Neo-Confucian scholar Yi Eon-jeok (Hoejae) and is counted, with Dosan Seowon in Andong, among the leading academie…
Churches & monasteries
경주시
Only huge foundation stones remain in an open field. Yet on this spot once stood a nine-storey wooden pagoda thought to have reached about 80 m. Hwangnyongsa was the largest temple of the Silla kingdom, built over 93 years as a national pr…
Churches & monasteries
고성군
In the hills of Goseong, not far from the inter-Korean border, Geonbongsa sits where the ridges of Geumgangsan, the Diamond Mountains, begin, which is why it is often called "Geumgangsan Geonbongsa". It was once a vast temple of 3,183 kan…
Churches & monasteries
고성군
North of Sokcho, below Misiryeong Pass on the southern slope of Sinseonbong Peak, stands a temple whose gate reads "Geumgangsan Hwaamsa". It has long been described as lying at the foot of the peak where the twelve thousand summits of the…
Churches & monasteries
고양시
On the slopes of Hanmisan, on the western edge of Bukhansan in Jichuk-dong, Goyang, stands a temple whose story begins with the great monk Wonhyo and takes a turn when King Yeongjo spent a snowy night here. That night made it a royal praye…
Churches & monasteries
곡성군
Taeansa lies deep in a valley of Dongnisan in Jukgok-myeon, Gokseong, and was the head temple of the Dongnisan school, one of the Nine Mountain Schools of Seon Buddhism in Unified Silla. The forest path of about 1.8 km along the stream fro…
Churches & monasteries
공주시
An old saying goes "Magok in spring, Gapsa in autumn" (春麻谷 秋甲寺): Magoksa is at its finest in spring, Gapsa in autumn. Set on the northwestern slopes of Gyeryongsan, Gapsa feels special from the moment you walk in under old pines and zelkov…
Churches & monasteries
공주시
Donghaksa sits in a valley on the eastern side of Mt. Gyeryongsan and is home to Korea's oldest college for Buddhist nuns. Together with Gapsa on the western side, it is one of the two best-known temples of Gyeryongsan, and in spring crowd…
Churches & monasteries
공주시
Right in front of the temple, the stream swings round in a wide S-bend. Geomancers likened its course to the taegeuk symbol, and Joseon writers counted the Magoksa area among the ten refuges where you could sit out a war in safety. Magoksa…
Churches & monasteries
공주시
On the southwestern slopes of Gyeryongsan, Sinwonsa is counted with Donghaksa and Gapsa among the mountain's three great temples. It dates back to the Baekje kingdom, but what sets it apart is Jungakdan, a shrine where the Joseon royal cou…
Churches & monasteries
논산시
On the eastern slope of Banyasan in Nonsan, Gwanchoksa is home to the Stone Standing Maitreya Bodhisattva, often called the largest stone Buddha statue in Korea. About 18 m tall and nicknamed Eunjin Mireuk after the area's old name, it is…
Churches & monasteries
광주
On the western slopes of Mudeungsan, right where hikers start their climb, stands Jeungsimsa. Founded in the 9th century and burned and rebuilt several times since, the temple is mostly made up of newer halls, yet among them survive the ol…
Churches & monasteries
괴산군
At the end of a deep valley on the flanks of Chilbosan in Chilseong-myeon, Goesan, lies Gagyeonsa. The mountains close around it like the petals of a lotus, so even the drive in feels secluded, and inside the grounds you will find a Treasu…
Churches & monasteries
구례군
Saseongam is a hermitage built into a sheer rock face near the top of Osan, across the Seomjin River south of Gurye town. The red-pillared hall clinging to the cliff and the view from its terrace over the Seomjin River, the Gurye plain and…
Churches & monasteries
구례군
Hwaeomsa is a major Buddhist temple on the southern slopes of Jirisan in Gurye, South Jeolla. It is said to have been founded in 544 and is the head temple of the 19th district of the Jogye Order. In the middle of the grounds stands Gakhwa…
Churches & monasteries
구미시
Halfway up Naengsan in Haepyeong-myeon, Gumi, Dorisa is said to have been founded by Ado, the Goguryeo monk who first brought Buddhism to Silla. Its small grounds hold a lot of stories: the legend behind its name, a stone pagoda that looks…
Churches & monasteries
군위군
The Gunwi Buddha Triad Grotto is a cave temple on the northern slopes of Palgongsan, where three Buddhist figures sit in a natural cave halfway up a sheer rock face. Because it predates Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju and is seen as its forer…
Churches & monasteries
금산군
On the south-eastern slopes of Jinaksan in Geumsan, Boseoksa is a temple better known for the tree in its courtyard than for its halls. A ginkgo believed to be more than 1,000 years old stands here as a Natural Monument, and a fir-lined pa…