Suamsa (Seoul)

About this place

Suamsa, set on an auspicious south-facing site halfway up Suraksan, is a temple directly affiliated with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It was founded in 621, the 43rd year of King Jinpyeong of Silla, by the National Preceptor Wongwang, author of the Five Secular Precepts of the Hwarang, in the hope of achieving the great cause of unifying the Three Kingdoms. After being destroyed during the Manchu invasion of 1636 in the Joseon period, only the stone shrine remained until the temple was rebuilt. Within the grounds stand the Geungnakbojeon, a traditional-style (dancheong) hall of about 25 pyeong built during the monk Douk's restoration in 1962, along with the Samseonggak, monks' quarters and a standing Maitreya statue erected in 1972. On a large rock beside the Geungnakbojeon, the figure of a dragon ascending to heaven clutching a wish-fulfilling jewel is carved in intaglio, and within the temple grounds stands a red pine whose form resembles several dragons writhing upward to heaven. There is also a stone-cave shrine said to have a mysterious spring welling up. It can be visited while hiking Suraksan together with Doansa, Songamsa and Doseonsa.