Boriam

Quick facts

Address

Geumsan, Sangju-myeon, Namhae-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do

Spiritual entities

Avalokiteśvara (Kannon · Gwaneum, 観音菩薩)

About this place

Boriam is a hermitage on Geumsan in Namhae, well known as a place of prayer to Avalokiteśvara. It is a branch temple of Ssanggyesa, head temple of the thirteenth diocese of the Jogye Order. Its founding date is unknown; the widely repeated account that Wonhyo founded it in 683 is regarded as having almost no historical credibility. Yi Seong-gye is said to have offered a rite to heaven below this mountain and, after taking the throne, to have renamed it Geumsan because it looked draped in silk.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture states that Boriam’s founding period is unknown. The account that Wonhyo founded it in 683 is widespread but is regarded as having almost no historical credibility. It is a branch temple of Ssanggyesa, head temple of the thirteenth diocese of the Jogye Order.

A record survives that Yi Seong-gye offered a rite to heaven below the mountain, then called Bogwangsan, and that after taking the throne he renamed it Geumsan — silk mountain — because it looked wrapped in silk.

What it is locally associated with

• Power spotWish Fulfillment

  One of three great Gwaneum sites

  Counted alongside Hongryeonam at Naksansa and Bomunsa on Ganghwa.

  documented history

• Origin

  How Geumsan got its name

  Yi Seong-gye is said to have offered a rite to heaven below the mountain and, on taking the throne, renamed it for looking draped in silk.

  folk tradition

• Origin

  The founding date is unknown

  The Wonhyo-in-683 account is widespread, but the state record treats it as having almost no historical credibility.

  documented history

Boriam is known as a place of prayer to Avalokiteśvara, and is counted with Hongryeonam at Naksansa and Bomunsa on Ganghwa among the three great sites. The saying that follows all three is that one wish offered wholeheartedly will be heard — long transmitted, and not a promise the temple makes.

The story of Yi Seong-gye has followed this mountain and this hermitage for centuries. What the record holds, though, is that he offered a rite to heaven here and later renamed the mountain. What he asked for is not written down.

Related guides

• How to visit a Korean templeHands together and hands folded, how the bows work, and what to do at the threshold of a hall. Starting with what is different from visiting a Japanese shrine.
• The small hall behind the main one — sansingak and samseonggakUphill from the main hall of a Korean temple stands a smaller one, and inside it an old man with a tiger. This is where the indigenous religion sits, inside the Buddhist institution.
• Templestay — a night at a templeA programme that puts you inside a temple’s own timetable for a day or two. What you do, which type to book, and what to be ready for.
• Prayer sites and the one wishThe three great Gwaneum sites, the five relic halls, and the crowds before the entrance exam. Where the saying about one wish comes from, and where the record stops.

Sources

1. 금산 보리암(錦山 菩提庵) — 한국민족문화대백과사전 — Academy of Korean Studies (accessed 2026-08-10)
2. Boriam (Q12598350) — coordinate location — Wikidata (accessed 2026-08-10)