Originally established in the year 794 by the Shilla Dynasty King Wonseong, Bongeun Temple (봉은사/Bongeunsa) was refurbished in 1498 by the Joseon Dynasty’s Queen Jeonghyeon, and became the official site for the national examination of monks between 1552-1564 under the guidance of Queen Munjong.

Mireukdaebul "The Future Buddha"

Located in the heart of Seoul, the temple is conveniently located. It is literally around the corner from COEX, Asia’s largest underground shopping center which is part of Korea’s World Trade Center complex.

Mireukdaebul "The Future Buddha"

Of all that I saw on my late July visit, the most interesting was the Sacheonwang (사천왕), or Four Heavenly Kings statues. They are located inside Jinyeomun (진여문), meaning “Gate of Eternal Reality”, at Bongeunsa’s entrance, and so these statues are the first thing one sees when entering the temple grounds. Most temples have them at least in paintings but I found some carved in rock at Seokbulsa, and I found none at Bomunsa.

Altar of candles

Why are these particular Sacheonwang special? Well, typically, these powerful guardians have strong, or scary and intimidating expressions on their faces and in their body positions, but the Bongeunsa Sacheonwang have peaceful expressions and relaxed body positions.

Modern skyscrapers tower over Bongeunsa

Furthermore, Sacheonwang also generally have little evil doing people trapped under their feet like at Beomeosa, but the Bongeunsa Sacheonwang are missing this feature as well. I was unable to take a decent picture of any of them, to my disappointment, because they are inside glass cases. The photographer inside me wishes that they wouldn’t do that.

Buddism's Swastika In Yellow (A symbol of good fortune, luck and well being)

The second outstanding feature of the temple, for me, is probably the first for most people who aren’t familiar with the Sacheonwang. That would be the 23m tall statue of Mireukdaebul (미륵대불) “The Future Buddha”. According to Bongeunsa’s website, it is the largest in South Korea.

Yellow Lotus

My visit to Bongeunsa was at the end of July, so I was fortunate to see some lovely lotus flowers in full bloom in the pond in front of the statue of Haesoogwaneumsang (해수관음상) “Bodhisattva of Mercy”.

Pink Lotus

Sitting at my desk and looking back, the fact that Bongeunsa is easy to access, has South Korea’s largest Buddha statue, has very unique looking Sacheonwang, and stands in stark contrast to its more modern surroundings, makes this temple a decent destination for travelers who don’t have time to make it to temples outside of Seoul.

Resources
Bongeunsa (Korea Tourism Organization)
Bongeunsa (Wikipedia)
Bongeunsa (Official)
Buddism’s Swastika
The Future Buddha

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