Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, located about a 50-minute drive northeast from Busan city, is one of the three major Kannon holy sites in Korea. It is a place of greater faith than anywhere else, where the sea, dragons, and Kannon Buddha live in harmony, and is also known as a temple where anyone who prays sincerely will have one wish granted.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, located in the east sea of ​​Gijang-gun, Busan, is said to have been founded in 1376 by Naong, the royal priest of King Gongmin of Goryeo. One day during a hot, drought-ridden country, the East Sea Dragon King appeared in Naong's dream and told him, "If you join your hands and worship Buddha every morning in this place with the mountains behind you and the sea in front of you, the rain will be fair and the wind will be good and the country and people will be safe." He then built a temple here, named the mountain Bongrae Mountain, and named the temple Bomunsa Temple.

However, it was destroyed during the Imjin War and was rebuilt in the early 1930s by the monk Unggang of Tongdosa Temple. In 1974, the monk Jeongan prayed for 100 days and then had a dream in which he saw a white-robed Kannon Bodhisattva ascending to heaven riding a dragon, so he renamed it Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is beautifully built on a steep cliff by the sea, and the mysterious and unique layout of the temple makes it seem as if one is entering the Dragon Palace. To enter the temple, one must climb 1 steps, the number of earthly desires. At the entrance to the temple, there are statues of the 108 Chinese zodiac animals, a tower for praying for safe traffic, and 108 steps. It is said that if you stroke the nose and belly of the Bodhidharma elephant standing at the entrance to the 108 steps, you will be blessed with good fortune, and there are many traces of people left on the belly and nose of the Bodhidharma elephant.

After descending the 108 steps and crossing the stone bridge where you can toss a coin to make a wish, you will enter the temple grounds of Yonggungsa Temple, where you will see the Golden Pig, the cave hall with the Medicine Buddha, the Main Hall, the Golden Maitreya Buddha, and the Yongwang Hall.

In front of the Main Hall is a three-story stone pagoda decorated with four lions, which houses the Buddha's relics brought from Sri Lanka. A short distance away is the Dragon King Hall, and on the hill behind it is the Haesui Kannon Buddha, about 10 meters tall, overlooking the eastern sea.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is known as one of the three major sacred places of Kannon in Korea, along with Yangyang Naksansa Temple and Namhae Borium Temple. It is said that if anyone prays sincerely and sincerely at this temple, one wish will be granted, and the temple is always bustling with visitors, including wish-filled tourists.

Transportation : Seat 1003 from Nampo-dong (Chungmu-dong Rotary) to Gijang-gun
Starting from Nampo-dong, go through Busan Station, Gwangalli, and Haeundae Beach, and get off at the bus stop at the entrance to Songjeong Beach. (It takes about an hour to get to Songjeong Beach from Nampo-dong.) Get off the 1-seat bus, walk 1003 meters toward Songjeong Beach, and you will come to a right curve. At the bus stop at that curve, change to the 110 city bus and get off at the National Fisheries Research Institute, where the temple entrance is. From there, it takes about 181 to 10 minutes on foot to the temple.  

By regular taxi
From Haeundae Station on Subway Line 20, it is about a 8,000-minute taxi ride (approximately 20,000 won) / A regular taxi fare from Lotte Hotel in Seomyeon is 23,000-25,000 won / A regular taxi fare from Nampo-dong is approximately 28,000-XNUMX won (taxi fares are for reference only).  

Busan city bus number 181
Take subway line 30 to CentumCity Station or Haeundae Station. The journey takes about 40 to XNUMX minutes depending on where you board.  

Board the Donghae Line at Bujeon Station near Seomyeon
Get off at Songjeong Station on the Donghae Line and transfer to city bus no. 139