Gold Statue of Buddha in Haedong Yonggungsa

Haedong Yonggung Temple (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 해동 용궁사,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

:海東龍宮寺) is a Buddhist temple in

Gijang-gun Gijang County is a ''gun'', or county, located between Haeundae-gu and Ulsan in northern Busan, South Korea. History Gijang first appears under its current name in the annals of the year 757, during the Unified Silla period. At that time it wa ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The temple was built in 1376 by the teacher known as Naong during the

Goryeo Dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

, and was originally known as Bomun Temple (보문사). It was destroyed during the

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

but was rebuilt in the 1930s, and was renamed Haedong Yonggung Temple in 1974. The temple complex is a large one and one of few in Korea to be set on the seaside. As such, combined with its proximity to

Haeundae Beach Haeundae Beach（）is an urban beach in Busan, South Korea. Often dubbed one of the country's most famous and popular beaches, it is located in the eponymous Haeundae District. The beach is open year-round, and various festivals are held there t ...

and the east side of Busan, the temple is popular with sightseers, particularly during

Buddha's Birthday Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Gautama ...

celebrations when the complex is decorated with paper lanterns. It honors Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (

: 해수관음 대불), the Sea Goddess Buddha of Mercy, who is an aspect of

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

References

External links

Buddhist temples in South Korea Buildings and structures in Busan Gijang County {{Buddhist-temple-stub