Hyangiram

Quick facts

Address

1 Hyangiram-ro, Dolsan-eup, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do

About this place

Hyangiram is a hermitage on Geumosan in Dolsan, Yeosu, South Jeolla, founded by the Silla monk Wonhyo. He founded it in 644, the thirteenth year of Queen Seondeok, under the name Wontongam; after Yunpil rebuilt it in 958 it was called Geumoam. With Naksansa in Yangyang, Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa, it is counted one of Korea’s four sea-facing Avalokiteshvara prayer halls. Its present name was given because the sunrise seen from here is beautiful.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes Hyangiram as a hermitage on Geumosan in Dolsan, Yeosu, founded by Wonhyo, a monk of Silla.

He founded it in 644, the thirteenth year of Queen Seondeok, and called it Wontongam; after Yunpil rebuilt it in 958, the ninth year of King Gwangjong, it was called Geumoam.

The name Hyangiram was given because the sunrise that can be seen from here is beautiful.

What it is locally associated with

• Power spotWish Fulfillment

  One of four sea-facing prayer halls

  With Naksansa in Yangyang, Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa, it is counted one of Korea’s four sea-facing Avalokiteshvara prayer halls.

  documented history

• Origin

  A name meaning "facing the sun"

  The name was given because the sunrise that can be seen from here is beautiful.

  documented history

• Origin

  Wontongam, then Geumoam, then Hyangiram

  Founded by Wonhyo in 644 as Wontongam; called Geumoam after Yunpil rebuilt it in 958.

  documented history

The encyclopedia counts Hyangiram, with Naksansa in Yangyang, Boriam in Namhae and Bomunsa on Ganghwa, as one of Korea’s four sea-facing Avalokiteshvara prayer halls. There are four places to pray before an Avalokiteshvara who looks out at the sea, and three of them are on this site.

The hermitage’s setting is described as the shape of a turtle wading out to sea with its arms sweeping. Near the summit behind the temple there is a rocking stone that rocks by the same amount whether one person pushes it or ten.

The name has a plain history. The sunrise seen from here was thought beautiful, and so it became "facing the sun". This temple is named not for what it enshrines but for what can be seen from it.

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. 금오산 향일암(金鰲山 向日庵) — 한국민족문화대백과사전 — Academy of Korean Studies (accessed 2026-08-12)