Biamsa Temple | Attraction Guide | K-Travel Mate

The traditional temple Biamsa is said to have been founded by Doseon Guksa at the end of the Unified Silla period, but the exact history is unknown. The national treasures, including the Gye-yu Inscription Amitabha Buddha Stele and the cultural assets such as the Gi-chuk Inscription Amitabha Buddha Stele and Maitreya Bodhisattva Ban'gasa Statue discovered at Biamsa, are kept at the National Cheongju Museum. The closed roof inside Biamsa’s Geungnakbojeon Hall, restored in 1657, has been newly designated as a treasure due to its elaborate and splendid craftsmanship. Half of the cultural heritage excavated in Sejong City reportedly comes from Biamsa, making it a representative historical and cultural heritage site of Sejong City. The 860-year-old zelkova tree at Biamsa is another attraction; in olden times when farming was fundamental, villagers predicted the year's harvest by observing how the leaves sprouted on the tree in early spring. If leaves sprouted from the bottom up, it was believed to be a bad harvest, and if from the top down, a good one. The inscription in front of the tree reads “Not a single person has come by.” After parking at Biamsa parking lot, rather than going straight up to the temple, follow the stairs behind the restroom up the mountain a bit to view Biamsa at a glance. Surrounded by forest and with few visitors, it allows one to fully experience the charm of an ancient mountain temple.