The Origin of Songgwangsa Temple

Welcome to Songgwangsa Temple! Unlike most other historical temples in Korea, this temple is not located deep in the mountains. Built on a flat terrain, you’ll get a more down-to-earth feeling as you take a tour of this quiet temple. Along with the tunnel of cherry blossom trees just outside the entrance, the temple is also famous for lotus flowers. Lotus flowers are a symbol of Buddhism, largely because they teach an important lesson to people: Just as the flowers grow in the muddy waters and yet remain pure and clean, so should people. The message is clear: We may be living in a corrupt world, but we should try to be pure at heart and live up to the teachings of Buddha. This is one of the main philosophical doctrines of Buddhism.

A story has it that in 867, a Buddhist priest came to this region looking for a site to build a temple, and saw water coming out of the ground. He was impressed by the sight, and built a temple here.

But all the buildings you see today are built in the middle of the 17th century. At the time, this country was under the reign of King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty, and the queen consort often came to this temple to pray. That’s why the temple has a number of historical relics from the king’s time.