Yakcheonsa Temple

Yakcheonsa was built in the 1990s and its Daejeokgwangjeon is among the largest single temple halls in East Asia - roughly thirty metres to the ceiling, four storeys of interior gallery running round the walls, with a five-metre seated Vairocana Buddha at the centre, ten thousand small Buddha figures set into the walls, and a very large drum and bell. Because it is one open volume rather than a compound of small halls, the effect inside is unlike any historic Korean temple, and that is the reason to come; nothing here is old. The name refers to a spring on the site whose water was reputed medicinal. It stands among tangerine groves near the south coast, not far from Jungmun, and is free to enter. Visitors climb the internal galleries for the view down onto the Buddha, which is the photograph everyone takes.

What you actually see

• The single great hall - thirty metres to the ceiling.
• The internal galleries - four levels running round the walls.
• The seated Vairocana - five metres at the centre.
• The wall of small Buddhas - ten thousand figures set in.

When to go

Any season - it is an interior. Mornings are quieter; coach tours from Jungmun arrive through the day.

Honest expectations

Everything is modern, and visitors hoping for an old Jeju temple will be disappointed. It is one building - an hour covers it. Free, and it is a working temple, so services take priority.

Nearby

Jusangjeolli cliffs and Jungmun are close; Seogwipo is 10 km east.