Hongryeonam

Temple · Gangwon

Wish Fulfillment

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In short

A hermitage built where Uisang is said to have met Avalokiteśvara, its hall raised so the sea can be seen moving beneath the floor.

The hermitage of Hongryeonam standing on the rocks above the sea at Naksansa. — Steve46814 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Quick facts

Address: Naksansa, Ganghyeon-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon State
Spiritual entities: Avalokiteśvara (Kannon · Gwaneum, 観音菩薩) · Uisang (義湘, 625–702)

About this place

Hongryeonam is a hermitage attached to Naksansa. It is said to have been built in 672 by Uisang, on the spot where bamboo sprang up after he saw Avalokiteśvara in bodily form. Its name comes from the account that after seven days of prayer a red lotus rose from the sea with the bodhisattva at its centre. The hall is built so that the seawater can be seen moving beneath its floor.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records Hongryeonam as a hall built in 672, the twelfth year of King Munmu, by Uisang, on the spot where bamboo sprang up after he saw Avalokiteśvara in bodily form.

Following a blue bird, Uisang is said to have prayed for seven days before a sea cave, whereupon a red lotus rose from the water with the bodhisattva at its centre — and the hermitage took its name from it. It belongs to Naksansa, a temple of the third diocese of the Jogye Order.

What it is locally associated with

OriginWish Fulfillment
The bodhisattva on a red lotus
After seven days of prayer a red lotus is said to have risen from the sea with Avalokiteśvara at its centre. The hermitage is named for it.
folk tradition
Power spot
The sea beneath the floor
The hall is built so the moving seawater can be seen beneath its floorboards.
documented history
Power spotWish Fulfillment
One of three great Gwaneum sites
Counted alongside Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa.
documented history

Hongryeonam stands where Avalokiteśvara was met, and that is why people come. It is counted, with Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa, among Korea’s three great Avalokiteśvara prayer 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 structure that sets this hermitage apart is the hall itself, built so that the sea can be seen moving beneath the floor.

Claims and evidence levels 4

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records Hongryeonam as built in 672, the twelfth year of King Munmu, by Uisang, and as a hermitage of Naksansa in the third diocese of the Jogye Order. documented history
Uisang is said to have followed a blue bird and prayed seven days before a sea cave, whereupon a red lotus rose from the water with Avalokiteśvara at its centre; the hermitage is named for it. folk tradition
The hall is built so that the seawater can be seen moving beneath its floor. documented history
It is counted with Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa among the three great Avalokiteśvara prayer sites of Korea. documented history

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.