Daeheungsa Temple

Daeheungsa sits in a wooded bowl below Duryunsan in Haenam, near the southern tip of the peninsula, and is one of the seven Sansa inscribed by UNESCO in 2018. Its compound is unusually spread out, divided by a stream into northern and southern groups with no single dominating axis. The monk Seosan Daesa, who organised monastic militia during the sixteenth-century invasions, is commemorated here in a memorial hall, and his robe and possessions are kept in the temple museum. The other line of interest is tea: Choui, the nineteenth-century monk who wrote the standing Korean treatise on tea and revived its practice, lived at the Ilijiam hermitage above the temple, and the hillsides still carry tea. The signboard over one gate was written by Kim Jeong-hui, the calligrapher. The valley approach passes an old wooden bridge and long stands of maple.

History

The temple is believed to date from the Three Kingdoms period, and though no record of its founding survives, some hold that the monk Ado founded it in 514; it was first called Handeumjeol after the mountain's old name, Handeum, which in Chinese characters became Daedum and later Daeheung, while the mountain came to be called Duryun. It drew little attention until 1592, when the monk Seosan Daesa organised and trained a guerrilla army of 5,000 monks here to defend the country during the Imjin War (Wikipedia, Daeheungsa).

What to look for

• The split compound - two halves either side of the stream.
• The memorial hall - Seosan Daesa's relics and portrait.
• Ilijiam hermitage - the tea master's retreat above.
• The maple valley - the approach walk from the gate.

When to go

April to June and October. Autumn colour in the valley is the local draw. Weekday mornings are quiet - it is far enough south to be off most itineraries.

What to expect

Ticketed, with a long walk in from the gate. The hermitage above involves a further climb. It is a working monastery under UNESCO listing, with the usual restrictions.

Nearby

Duryunsan's trails and cable car start here; Ttangkkeut, the mainland's southern point, is south.

Key facts