Seonggongsa Temple

About this place

Seonggongsa Temple is located on Gobulsan Mountain, with Buddhist construction beginning in 1982 under Head Monk Gwangmuk. The name means 'the valley where many saints reside,' and the outstanding scenery draws visitors for personal prayer as well as sightseeing. The precinct includes Daeungjeon, bell pavilion, Samseong Shrine, Myeongbujeon, Nahanjeon, Cheonbuljeon, Jijangjeon, Wabul Hall, and Yaksa Hall; Gwaneum Hall was added in 2006 to complete the present layout. At the center of Cheonbuljeon stands an 18-meter seated Buddha, the largest indoor seated Buddha in Korea. Around the seated figure are statues of Shakyamuni's ten great disciples, and behind them bronze plates engraved with the Diamond Sutra stand like folding screens. The grounds also feature large open-air Buddhist statues — Yaksa Yeorae, Mireuk Buddha, Jijang Bodhisattva, a Reclining Buddha, and an Amitabha all over 10 meters tall — creating a unique layout quite different from typical temple arrangements.