Yeonmisa (Andong)

About this place

Yeonmisa is a branch temple of Gouensa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, located on Odosan in Icheon-dong, Andong, Gyeongbuk. Its origin lies in Myeongdeok, one of the disciples of the Goguryeo monk Bodeok, who carved and enshrined a Buddha statue on a rock and called it Yeongusa. Later, because the roof covering the statue resembled a swallow, it was called Yeonjaru, and because the monks' quarters (yosa) corresponded to the swallow's tail and the main hall to the swallow's beak, it came to be called Yeonmisa. The name Yeonmisa is also said to have originated from Yeonbiwon, commonly called Jebiwon, which was a lodging where travelers going between the Yeongnam region and Hanyang during the Joseon period rested. The gentle smile of the Icheon-dong Stone Buddha, a Treasure housed at Yeonmisa, is well known as a symbolic face of Andong. Commonly also called the Jebiwon Maitreya Buddha, this stone Buddha is a precious Buddha remaining alone from the long history of Yeonmisa and one of the few representative Maitreya Buddhas in the history of Korean Buddhism. Moreover, this stone Buddha is connected to the objects of folk belief that the common people long sought to root in their lives, appearing even in Seongju-puri, a representative folk song. Although Yeonmisa is a temple of very small scale, the artistic and ethnic heritage value embodied in the Maitreya Buddha is outstanding.