The Iceberg

Last week I took a nice little drive to a place called Heungguksa.

The temple was built by the Buddhist monk Bojokuksa (보조국사) in 1195 during the 25th year of the reign of Myeong-jo (명조), the 19th king of the Koryeo (고려) dynasty. It is said that the name “Heungguksa” was derived from a saying that goes, “If this temple prospers, the country will prosper, but if this temple perishes, the country will perish.”

Heungguksa is famous as the location where 300 Buddhist naval monk soldiers trained during the 1592 Japanese invasion.

Here are some photos of Heungguksa, which is located about 25-30 minutes from Yeosu by scooter.