Bongseon-sa

On this site used to stand Unaksa Temple. It was built by Beopinguksa in 969, the 20th year of the reign of King Gwangjong of the Goryeo Dynasty.

<< Great bell of Bongseonsa Temple

In 1469, the first year of the reign of King Yejong, Queen Jeonghui, wife of King Sejo, established the tomb of her husband on this mountain and renamed the temple Bongseonsa. As the temple experienced several wars including the Imjinwaeran, Byeongjahoran, and the Korean War, it has been burned down and rebuilt several times. The peaceful and quiet temple gained its fame when the famous Korean novelist Chunwon Lee Gwangsu, and Sohae Choehaksong, Unam Kim Song-suk, and Go Eun, a famous poet, became friends with Unho, a former head monk of this temple.

The thickly wooded road in front of the temple toward the direction of Pocheon leads to the Forest Museum built and managed by the Korea Forestry Research Institute.


What to see


Bongseonsa Temple Daejong (Great bell of Bongseonsa Temple)

This work is one of the few bronze bells remaining from the early Joseon Kingdom, made before Japanese Aggression. It is 238 cm in height, 168 cm in mouth diameter, 23 cm in thickness and made in the first year of the King Yejong (A.D 1469).

The top doesn't have a dragon tub. It is a typical Joseon bell that two dragons leaning against each other play a role of loop of a bell. On the shoulder of the bell are double horizontal lines parting off it from the body. In the middle of the bell are threefold horizontal line dividing the body into up and down. On the upper part of the lines square panels with nipple-like protrusions and Buddhist Bodhisattva are arranged by turns, and on the down part a long article is engraved, which is written by Jeong Nanjong and composed by Gang Heemaeng. In the article a reason to make this bell is and the names concerned with the project are enumerated, to show it was a large-scale construction. And broadband is upward and far distant from the mouth of the bell.

It is appraised as a very important and great bell expressing well the characters of Joseon: the bigger mouth form than the Goryeo, horizontal band on the body and engraving technique.


Name of Cultural Properties: Bongseonsadaejong (Great bell of Bongseonsa Temple)

Created under a royal order by King Yejong (1468-69) in 1469, this is one of the few bronze bells of the early Joseon period (1392-1910) that survived the Japanese Invasion (1592-98). The bell has a handle of twin dragons on the top by which it can be hung. Images of standing Bodhisattvas and arabesque boxes and the triple lines and at each corner of the Bodhisattva images are graphic Sanskrit words. The inscription around the body was composed by Gang Huimaeng (1424-83), a renowned scholar of the time, and written by the calligrapher Jeong Nanjong(1433-89). It is about the bell's construction and lists the names of the founder and the artisans who worked on it.


Address

255, Bupyeong-ri, Jinjeop-eup, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. S.KOREA.
Tel: 031-527-5974


Source

By Public Transport

From Seoul - Uijeongbu - Chukseok Checkpoint - Arboretum - Bongseonsa
Take a subway line No. 1 (Light blue line) to Uijeongbu Station and make your way toward Uijeongbu Market and find Gu Terminal (Old Bus Terminal) (10 min. walk). Take local bus No. 21 for Gwangneungnae there, available every 30 min. (Beginning on the hour). You will get to Bongseonsa 30 min. after passing Chukseok Checkpoint, an arboretum and Gwangneung.

heongryang-ri Station - Gwangneungnae - Bongseonsa
If you go out of the Cheongryang-ri Station to your right. Go all the way to the end of the bus stop and find a sign for deluxe(Jwaseok) city bus No. 707, available every 5 to 7 min.. Take the bus and you will arrive at the last stop, Gwangneungnae in 40 min.. Take local bus No. 21 for Uijeongbu there, available every 30 min. (Beginning on the hour). You will get to Bongseonsa in a few stops.

By Car

Via the Jungbu Expressway
Exit the Jungbu Expressway at Guri Interchange and drive toward Twoigyewon/ Idong. You will find and pass Janghyun. As soon as you pass a checkpoint (the first standing checkpoint after Guri Tollgate, you take a right turn and drive for about 2 km until you find a sign for Gwangneung, Arboretum, Bongseonsa.

From Gangnam Area in Seoul
Take 88 Olympic Highway toward Misa-ri. and drive into Guri Tollgate, opposite direction to the Jungbu Expressway. Refer to 1 above after that.

From Gangnbuk Area in Seoul
Drive to Guri via Manguri Hill. From Guri, refer to 4 below. Or alternatively, you can drive toward Sangbong Bus Terminal from Cheonryangri and turn left at Sangbong 4-way intersection. It is the route of deluxe (Jwaseok) city bus No. 707. Drive straight basically following the route of the bus.

Via Manguri Hill
Drive into Guri passing Manguri Hill. From Guri, turn left at Guri 4-way intersection (Stone bridge) toward Twoigyewon/ Janghyun. Drive straight toward Janghyun (or Idong) via Twoigyewon. From there, refer to the above.

Via Uijeongbu-si
Find the national road to Pocheon from downtown Uijeongbu. Drive along until you hit Chukseok Checkpoint. From the checkpoint, drive onto a narrow path to your right, the road to the well-known arboretum. Pass through the arboretum and Gwangneung enjoying the fresh air and, in a while, you will see a sign for Bongseonsa.