Naksansa Temple

Naksansa was founded in 671 on a headland above the East Sea and is one of the three main Korean temples to Gwanseeum Bosal, the bodhisattva of compassion, along with Bomunsa on Seokmodo and Boriam in the south - all three are coastal, which is the pattern for this devotion. The compound climbs a pine slope from the gate to a hilltop where a white granite statue of the bodhisattva, sixteen metres tall and completed in 1977, stands looking out to sea. Below it Uisangdae, a pavilion on the cliff edge, is a classic sunrise spot, and Hongryeonam is a small hermitage built out over the rocks with a hole in its floor through which the sea is visible underneath. In April 2005 a forest fire swept the headland and destroyed most of the temple buildings including the bell; reconstruction followed and what stands is largely post-fire, with the surviving stone elements and the regrown pines making the difference visible.

What you actually see

• The stone bodhisattva - the sixteen-metre white figure on the hill.
• Uisangdae - the cliff-edge pavilion above the sea.
• Hongryeonam - the hermitage with the sea under its floor.
• The fire's mark - rebuilt halls and regrowing pine.

When to go

April to June and September to November; sunrise from Uisangdae is the set piece. The temple opens early for it.

Honest expectations

Most buildings are post-2005 reconstruction after the fire. Ticketed entry and a climb from the gate. It is a working temple with services and rules on dress and quiet.

Nearby

Yangyang's surf beaches are along the coast; Seoraksan and Sokcho are north.