Naewonsa (Seoul)

About this place

Naewonsa is a temple nestled at the foot of Samgaksan Mountain; if you pass through the Jeongneung valley and climb about 1 km, you reach a spot that looks out toward distant Mongmyeoksan Mountain. When and by whom it was founded is not precisely known, but one can sense that the site is no ordinary place. Historically, the only things that attest to Naewonsa's existence at present are the 'Suseonjeondo' map made by Kim Jeong-ho and a woodblock called 'Baegui Daesa Buldo' made in 1859 (the 10th year of King Cheoljong) and handed down at the temple. On the Suseonjeondo, Naewonam is marked at the same location where Naewonsa now stands, and the 'Baegui Daesa Buldo' woodblock bears the record 'Samgaksan Naewonam,' showing that the temple was still keeping its Buddhist flame alive into the early 19th century. It cannot but raise questions as to when and why Naewonsa vanished into history. This makes the transience of time feel all the more keenly. Even today, amid that transience, traces of the years seep from the long, moss-covered stone embankment beneath the bell pavilion, and the nectar-like spring water welling up from the crevices in the rocks flows silently, as if oblivious to the temple's rise and fall. Source: Naewonsa