Baengnyeonsa Temple (Muju)

About this place

Baengnyeonsa is a temple on Deogyu Mountain in Muju, a branch temple of Geumsansa — the head temple of the 17th district of the Jogye Order. According to tradition, it was founded during the reign of King Sinmun of Silla, when a monk named Baengnyeon built a thatched hermitage here and practiced; from the site a white lotus flower rose, and the temple took its name from that event. Traces of its restoration in Gwangmu 4 (1900) by Yi Ha-seop and a commemorative stele he erected can be found at the site. During the Korean War, all buildings were burned, but the temple bell — said to have been made in Gyeongjong 3 (1723) — was moved to safety and survives. In 1968, the monks' quarters were built and the temple, previously known as Baengnyeonam Hermitage, was renamed Baengnyeonsa. For over thirty years afterwards, restoration construction continued. The main hall (Daeungjeon) is a five-bay-front, three-bay-deep hip-and-gable roof structure. Other buildings include Seonsudan, Wontongjeon, the Four Heavenly Kings Gate (Sacheonwangmun), and the One Pillar Gate (Iljumun). Behind the temple is Baengnyeonsa Gyedan — a Buddhist ordination platform. The tradition holds that anyone who chants 'Gwanseum Bosal' while circling this platform at least seven times will have their wish fulfilled, and many people's footsteps have never ceased.