Haedong Yonggungsa Temple | Attraction Guide | K-Travel Mate

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple was founded in 1376 by Naong Daesa, the royal teacher of King Gongmin, and is one of the Three Great Gwaneum Sacred Sites in Korea. It harmoniously combines the sea, dragons, and the Great Gwaneum Buddha, embodying deep religious meaning. It is famous as a place where anyone who sincerely prays will receive a divine dream and have one wish granted. Destroyed during the Japanese invasions of Korea, it was rebuilt in the early 1930s by Ungang of Tongdosa. In 1974, Monk Jeongam became the temple head, vowed to restore it as a Gwaneum site, and performed a 100-day prayer; after dreaming of Gwanseum Bosal dressed in white riding a dragon and ascending, he renamed the temple Haedong Yonggungsa. Existing buildings include the Daeungjeon, Gulbeopdang, Yongwangdang (Yonggungdan), Beomjonggak, and temple lodgings. The Gulbeopdang next to Daeungjeon, also called Mireukjeon, enshrines a seated Maitreya stone Buddha since its founding, known as Deuknambul, believed to grant offspring to those without descendants if they pray. In front of Daeungjeon stands a four-lion stone pagoda.