Gyeseungsa Temple (Goseong)

This description was machine-translated from the Korea Tourism Organization's Korean original.

Nestled at the foot of Geumtaesan in Goseong—the land of dinosaurs, steeped in primordial mystery and the wonder of cliffs—Gyeseungsa bears the marks of time on its rocks as deeply as the years themselves. As if to prove that this was dinosaur country 100 million years ago, enormous dinosaur footprints remain. And on the vast bedrock, ripple-mark fossils like those waves leave on a sandy shore as they recede are simply mysterious. That is not all. The bizarre rock formations that screen Gyeseungsa like a folding screen take the shape of a turtle’s back, and even raindrop marks left by primordial showers—truly, nature’s own works of art. The spring water that rises on Yongdubong and flows between odd rocks and cliffs is so clear and pure that legend has it three doe and two hop of rice for daily offerings to the Buddha once poured forth. It is also said that at Gyeseungsa on Geumtaesan, at the end of the Goryeo dynasty, Yi Seong-gye came down to the three southern provinces to subdue Japanese pirates, practiced here, and nurtured his dream of founding Joseon. Thus, after founding Joseon, King Taejo Yi Seong-gye is said to have bestowed the character “geum” on the names of the mountains where he had practiced—namely Geumtaesan (金太山) in Goseong and Geumsan (錦山) in Namhae. Gyeseungsa, a thousand-year-old Silla temple that quietly carries on the flow of history with a great rock of primordial form upon its head, preserves its natural forest intact, adding to its seclusion. If you seek quiet leisure away from the bustling town, the sound of a monk’s sutra chanting and the temple wind chimes from the Dharma hall of Gyeseungsa on the rock will be fine companions.