Naksansa Temple

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul. Hear the waves? We're at Naksansa, a Buddhist temple sitting on a cliff above the East Sea in Yangyang. Mountains behind, ocean in front. What a view!

The year is 671. A famous Silla monk named Uisang has just returned from studying in Tang China. According to legend, he came to this coast to meet Gwaneum, the bodhisattva of compassion, who was said to live in a sea cave. He prayed for days, and then, the legend says, Gwaneum appeared on a red lotus rising from the sea. So he built a little hermitage above the cave, called Hongnyeonam, the Red Lotus Hermitage. The name Naksan itself comes from Potalaka, the mythical mountain home of Gwaneum.

But this temple has survived a lot. It burned during the Mongol invasions, and again during the Korean War. Then, in April 2005, a huge forest fire swept through. Most of the buildings were lost, and even a bronze bell from 1469 melted.

Here's the twist. How do you rebuild a temple when so much is gone? Korea used a painting! An 18th-century painting of Naksansa by master painter Kim Hongdo guided the restoration. Art saved history. Daebak!

Yul's tip! Walk up to the giant white Haesu Gwaneum statue, built in 1977, and then to the Uisangdae pavilion for sunrise. In halls, don't step on the raised threshold, keep quiet, and dress modestly. You can even try a temple stay here.

Next, let's go into the mountains, to a temple hidden in a forest of fir trees. Kaja!