Foundation Myth of Mireuksa Temple

What you see here in front of you is a reproduction of the ancient Mireuksa Temple. Have you ever seen the Vatican cathedrals of San Pietro? There are a collection of splendid buildings that cover 2.3 hectares of ground. Would you believe it if I told you that Mireuksa Temple was actually larger than the San Pietro complex? Mireuksa Temple was built by Baekje's King Mu during the 7th century and was the largest Buddhist temple in East Asia at the time.

There is an ancient myth regarding the foundation of Mireuksa Temple.

One day the King and Queen were on their way to a temple to pray when they came upon a large pond at the base of Yonghwa Mountain. The Mireuksa, or a Buddhist saint suddenly appeared, rising from the middle of the pond. Because of this divine vision, the King decided that he would build a temple larger than any other in Baekje on this sacred site.

In order to build the temple, he searched for a way to fill in the pond and requested help from Buddhist monks. It is said that it took the monks just one day to move the mountain to fill in the pond. People travelled from as far away as neighboring kingdoms to help with the construction of the temple.

The King named the completed temple after Mireuksa, the Buddhist saint who had appeared to him, in the hope that the Buddhist saint would bring peace to the people of Baekje.