Uisangdae Pavilion and Hongnyeonam Hermitage of Naksansa Temple, Yangyang

Uisangdae Pavilion and Hongnyeonam Hermitage of Naksansa Temple, Yangyang, are named among the Eight Scenic Views of Gwandong introduced in Songgang Jeong Cheol's (1536–1593) Gwandong byeolgok, and the site is very famous for its view of sunrise over the Donghae (East Sea). Naksansa Temple is said to have been founded in 671 by the monk Uisang; Uisangdae was set up on the coastal cliff where Uisang is said to have had a vision of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Gwaneum) at the time of the temple's founding; and Hongnyeonam Hermitage was built where Uisang saw the Bodhisattva within a red lotus. Throughout Naksansa, legends connected with Uisang are handed down at every turn. Uisangdae and Hongnyeonam stand atop seaside cliffs, with old pine trees nearby, commanding a single sweeping view of the beautiful coastal scenery of the East Sea coast; the site is famous for its rising-sun scenery and draws large numbers of visitors. The old pine trees that were once a key scenic feature of Naksansa were lost in the great 2005 Gangwon wildfire, greatly damaging the scenery, but the coast around Uisangdae and Hongnyeonam retains well-developed sea stacks, giving it a distinctive and beautiful coastal landscape. Naksansa's old appearance is well preserved in the Gwandong sipgyeong (Ten Scenic Views of Gwandong), and many old texts—including the Samguk yusa, the Dongmunseon and the Dongmun yeoji seungnam—record numerous accounts by poets and men of letters of the temple's founding and rebuilding, along with travel writings and poems in praise of its scenery, giving the site great historical value.

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Where it is

Region

Yangyang, Gangwon

Designation

Scenic Site · 명승