In Search of Dangun Sacred Sites | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Ssanggyesa Temple was built when Sambeop Monk returned from studying Confucianism in the 21st year of King Seongdeok of Silla, bringing and enshrining the relics of Huineng, the 6th Patriarch of Chinese Seon Buddhism. In the 2nd year of King Munseong (840), Jingamseonsa Hyeso named it Okcheonsa, but it changed to Ssanggyesa in the 2nd year of King Jeonggang. Ssanggyesa, burned down during the Imjin War, was rebuilt by Byeokam Daesa in the 10th year of King Injo (1632). Attractions include the famous cherry blossoms of Ssanggyesa, the handwritten Ssanggyeseokmun by Goun Choe Chi-won, the stele of Jingamseonsa Daegongtap, a natural elm tree in the northern Guksam temple yard, and Buil Waterfall, located in the two valleys of Cheonghakbong and Baekhakbong to the northeast. Ssanggyesa is closely associated with tea; in the 3rd year of King Heungdeok of Silla (828), Kim Daeryeom brought tea seeds from the Tang Dynasty as an envoy and planted them around the southern Jirisan near Ssanggyesa by royal command. Near the Iljumun gate, the Tea Seed Planting Memorial Stele stands, and there is also a Tea Seed Planting Site monument in the village tea fields.

불일폭포는 지리산 10경의 하나이다. 쌍계사에서 3km 지점에 있어 쌍계사를 답사한 후 불일폭포를 등산하면 좋은 여행이 된다.

경상남도 하동군 섬진강을 찾는 사람들은 신바람 가득한 화개장터와 황홀한 쌍계사의 십리벚꽃길을 욕심껏 즐긴 후에 평사리 최 참판 댁으로 쌩하니 내달리고는 한다.

Located in Mugye-ri, Cheongam-myeon, deep in the embrace of Jirisan, the sacred mountain of the Korean people, Samseonggung sits about 1.5 km along the mountain path of Cheonghak-dong at an elevation of 850m. The precise name of Samseonggung is Baedalseongjeon Samseonggung. It was established by Kang Min-joo (Hanpul Seonsa) from this area in 1983 by restoring the ancient Sodo of the Gojoseon era. It enshrines Hwanin, Hwanung, and Dangun, the ancestral spirits of the people, as Baedalminjok Seongjeon, serving as a shrine that preserves the ethnic lineage of Seondo, the indigenous Daoist path, and functions as a place of practice for Shinseondo, the Dao of immortality. Hanpul Seonsa and his disciples, continuing the Seondo tradition passed down from old times, stacked about 1,500 stone towers that blend harmoniously with the surrounding forest, giving off an exotic atmosphere. These stone towers are called Wonryeok Sotdae here. In the Samhan period, sacred places called Sodo where they held ceremonies for the heavenly deity were marked by sotdae—wooden poles with goose carvings placed high in trees to forbid common people's entry. Like prayers at a village shrine, wishes are made while building sotdae from stones at the foot of Jirisan to restore the old Sodo. By stacking 3,333 sotdae, the sacred hall is formed to reclaim the unique spiritual culture of our people and create a world of Hongik Ingan, serving as a base for those who train in martial arts, singing, dance, and music.