Wolmyeongsa Temple (Busan)

Wolmyeongsa is located at the foot of Ilgwangsan Mountain in Ilgwang-myeon, Gijang-gun, Busan. The trailhead starts from 'Samdeok Village', a community of people with Hansen's disease. From Busan, you can follow National Route 14 through Bansong-dong into Gijang and Ilgwang-myeon, or pass through downtown Busan and head via scenic Haeundae to Songjeong, Gijang and Ilgwang-myeon. Ilgwangsan Mountain, which sits like a folding screen right behind the Ilgwang sea, is famous for its especially beautiful sunsets, known as the Ilgwang Sunset (Ilgwang Nakjo), one of the Eight Scenic Views of Ilgwang.

Located right here at the foot of Ilgwangsan Mountain, Wolmyeongsa is a little-known temple of the Taego Order; although it is not large, you can discover charming and unpretentious touches throughout its courtyard. According to one tradition, it has long been a place of prayer where a Buddha statue was enshrined and devotions were offered, but today it is known only as a practice center founded in 1882 by the monk Kim Beop-seong of Beomeosa Temple, with no notable records or relics from which to infer more. The medicinal spring water welling up from a spring within the temple grounds, long known for its efficacy, has become known as a remedy by word of mouth among the people of nearby villages, and since Buddhist artists who are close to Wolmyeongsa work here, it is nice to see arhat and child-attendant statues quite often throughout the grounds. As a place where the sun of Ilgwangsan Mountain and the moon of Wolmyeongsa come together in harmony, Wolmyeongsa sits as it is, without going against the flow of nature; although it currently has few followers, it often serves as a resting place for hikers using the quiet walking course that starts from the temple grounds and is neither steep nor rugged.