We take a walk through the entire complex of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple built on a rocky peninsula on the northeast coast of Busan, South Korea.

The temple complex is only one of few in Korea to be set on the seaside.

Its name Haedong Yonggungsa means “Korean Dragon Palace Temple”.

Although Haedong Yonggungsa rose to popularity among tourists relatively recently, the temple has a long history going all the way back to 1376.

We begin our walk near the entrance, where all visitors arrive either by a bus or a car. We follow a narrow downhill road, past multiple food and souvenir stalls to reach the temple entrance. We are welcomed by a row of 12 larger than human sized zodiac animals statues and other various statues and carved stones.

At the end of the row of statues, we see a 7-story pagoda, at the base of which sits a car wheel shrine, where people can pray to avoid car accidents.

From this point, we descend a flight of stone stairs, where we pass by a fat Podae-hwasang statue, whose belly or ears you can rub for good luck.

We take a short walk left from the main path onto the sunrise platform, where we take a few stops to enjoy the famous view of Haedong Yonggungsa, situated on the rocky mountain facing the sea.

We return back onto the main path proceeding to the temple. Right before the entrance, we cross a stone bridge, where many visitors like to toss coins into the stone ponds below.

The main temple area of Haedong Yonggungsa is dominated by the Daeungjeon Main Hall, which was only built in 1970. At the front, a 3-tier stone pagoda faces the sea like a lighthouse.

Behind the golden statue, stairs lead up to a lookout platform with a tall statue of Gwanseum-bosal (the Bodhisattva of Compassion), from which visitors can enjoy a view over the entire temple grounds and the East Sea.

The entire temple is decorated by many colorful paper lanterns that make the temple feel alive. Also, we can’t be surprised by the large crowds in the entire complex, as the temple is said to be the most beautiful in entire Korea.

00:00 Food and souvenir stalls
02:15 Entrance to the Temple Complex
02:22 Zodiac Animal Statues
03:21 Car Wheel Shrine
04:00 Entrance to the Temple
05:41 First view of the Temple
08:15 Sunrise Platform
10:09 Famous view of the Temple
13:15 Crossing the Stone Bridge
15:26 Temple Entrance
16:49 Daeungjeon Main Hall
21:04 Lookout platform

Date of recording: July 2023

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