Gilsangsa Temple

Until the 1990s this walled compound on a wooded slope in Seongbuk was Daewongak, one of the most exclusive Korean restaurants in Seoul, a place where politicians and businessmen were entertained in private pavilions. Its owner, Kim Yeong-han, who had run it for decades, gave the entire property to the monk Beopjeong - a writer whose book on non-possession had become widely read - and it opened as a temple in 1997. That history explains the layout: instead of the usual axial arrangement of halls there are small pavilions scattered up a garden slope, linked by stone paths and steps under old trees, with a stream and a pond, which makes it feel unlike any other temple in the city. Beopjeong's simple hut is preserved. It runs a templestay programme, has a tea house, and is quiet enough that people come simply to sit. Autumn colour on the slope is the season, and the walk up from Seongbuk-dong is part of it.

What you actually see

• The scattered pavilions - former restaurant rooms up the garden.
• Beopjeong's hut - the monk's plain quarters preserved.
• The garden slope - stone paths, stream and old trees.
• The tea house - the quiet room for sitting.

When to go

April to June and October to November; the autumn colour on the hillside is the reason many locals come. Weekday mornings are silent.

Honest expectations

It is small and there is nothing to "see" in a monument sense - the point is the quiet, and visitors treating it as a photo stop are out of place. The uphill walk is steep. Free entry.

Nearby

Seongbuk-dong's old houses and the Simujang residence are close; Bukhansan trails start above.