After completing our visit to
Busan SeaLife Aquarium, we took a public bus no.139 and got off at Yonggungsa Temple / National Fisheries Research Development Institute stop. Our next place to visit was Haedong Yonggung Temple.
After alighting the bus, we walked 60m back in the direction where your bus came from, turned left onto Yonggung-gil, walk straight along Yonggung-gil to reach the temple. We walked for about 15 minutes and came to a street with stalls selling souvenirs, snacks, fruits etc.
When we saw the grilled squids, we could not resist. :-)
Once we walked through the street, we arrived at a resting place where there are statues of deities and pagoda where one can pray for traffic safety. An array of the 12 zodiac (十二生肖) stone statues were there standing in a straight line position following the path as if they were soldiers guarding the way. They were there to protect the temple.
This is the starting point of the path towards the temple.
We need to walk down the 108 stairs with stone lanterns lining the rocky landscape to get to the temple.
Midway down the 108 steps, we stopped and enjoyed the calming sounds of the waves, and was delighted with the beauty of the temple.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is situated on the coast of the north-eastern portion of Busan. This superb attraction offers visitors the rare find of a temple along the shore line as most temples in Korea are located in the mountains. The temple was first built in 1376 by the great Buddhist teacher known as Naong during the Goryeo Dynasty. Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasion of Korea. Monk Ungang of Tongdo Temple rebuilt the temple in the early 1930's. In 1970, the main sanctuary of the temple was reconstructed with careful attention to the colours traditionally used in such structures.
Before entering the main temple compound, we walked down to the coastline where there is a Golden Buddha sitting there, back facing the sea and watching over the temple.
Haedong Yonggung Temple is being viewed as the most beautiful temple in Korea.
Upon entering the temple, the main sanctuary welcomed us. It was just an ordinary Buddhist temple but what sets it apart from all the rest was the spectacular view. This was our first time visiting a seaside temple which made this visit so unique.
At the the top near Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Sea water Great Goddess Buddha) is a breathtaking aerial view of the temple, the coastal line and beyond.
We spent about an hour admiring the beauty of the temple and its surrounding.
Anyone who is hoping to have a son can come and pray in front of this Buddha below.
After the temple visit, we followed the same path out to the main road to catch the bus back to Haeundae Beach.
There is actually a Lotte Premium Outlets not far away from the temple. However, as we were pretty tired and it's getting late, we decided to give it a miss.
We had an ice cream break at Baskin Robbins along the street at Haeundae.
Time to get back to Busan Station and be ready for the train ride to Seoul tomorrow morning.
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