Unsimsа Temple (Gunsan)

About this place

Unsimsa Temple was founded in 1919 by a Korean named Yi Jong-seon during the Japanese colonial period and belongs to the Korean Buddhist Taego Order. It was established on the gentle southern slope of Baeksan mountain in Sanwol-ri, Daeya-myeon. The temple grounds are not particularly large, and the buildings are modest in scale. The beauty of Unsimsa lies in its vegetable garden and flower beds that adorn the monastic life. The main hall (Daeungjeon) is a small hip-and-gable-roofed structure, three bays wide and two bays deep, with round pillars on natural stone foundations in the jusimpo bracket style, featuring no decorative plaques or hanging columns, and simple dancheong (traditional paintwork) inside and out. Inside, the central Shakyamuni Buddha is flanked by Maitreya and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattvas. In front of the main hall stands a stone Maitreya statue created in 1989, 19 feet tall, standing on a lotus pedestal — disproportionately large compared to the modest main hall, yet with a small and endearing face.