Korea
Korea's sacred places put Buddhist monasteries and shamanic shrines side by side, often on the same mountain. The places here span five areas, from shrines on Seoul's mountainsides to island hermitages on the south coast.
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11 placesOpen in the full map
Places in this collection
TempleGatbawi
- Exams & Study
- Wish Fulfillment
A Unified Silla stone Buddha seated on the summit of Gwanbong on Palgongsan, and the busiest prayer site in the country in the weeks before the university entrance exam.
ShrineGuksadang, Inwangsan
- Fertility & Children
- Health & Healing
- Protection & Safety
A shaman shrine moved from Namsan to the slope of Inwangsan in 1925 under Japanese pressure, where roughly a hundred gut rites are still held each year.
TempleHongryeonam
- Wish Fulfillment
A hermitage built where Uisang is said to have met Avalokiteśvara, its hall raised so the sea can be seen moving beneath the floor.
TempleBoriam
- Wish Fulfillment
An Avalokiteśvara prayer site on the slope of Geumsan, counted with Hongryeonam and Bomunsa among Korea’s three great sites.
TempleJungakdan, Sinwonsa
- Wish Fulfillment
The only survivor of the three royal mountain-god altars of Joseon stands in the grounds of Sinwonsa on Gyeryongsan.
Historic SiteChamseongdan, Manisan
- Miscellaneous
A stone altar said to have been raised by Dangun for rites to heaven, used for state sacrifices under Goryeo and Joseon, and the site of a rite held every National Foundation Day.
Historic SiteMungyeong Saejae
- Exams & Study
The highest and hardest pass on the road from the southeast to the capital, with three gates strung along six and a half kilometres.
TempleTapsa, Maisan
- Protection & Safety
A temple among stone towers raised by one man over a lifetime, of which about eighty of the original hundred and eight still stand.
Sacred MountainNogodan
The peak where rites to the Holy Mother of Jirisan began, before the rite moved to Namaksa and later to a hall beside Hwaeomsa.
TempleJeongmyeol-bogung, Odaesan
- Protection & Safety
A relic hall on the middle terrace of Odaesan with no buddha image inside, because the Buddha’s own relics are enshrined there.