Temple Travel: Gilsangsa, Heungcheonsa, and Gyeongguksa

A Special Temple Tour with Seongbuk-gu Cultural Tourism Guides

Explore the temples of Seongbuk-gu, rich with ancient culture, while listening to stories from Seongbuk-gu cultural tourism guides

Buddhist stories from monks, tea time, making prayer beads, and experiences with monks

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) invited visitors to a special temple tour with Seongbuk-gu cultural tourism guides on two occasions, the 16th and the 20th.

At Seongbuk-gu’s representative temples?Gilsangsa, Heungcheonsa, and Gyeongguksa?various experiential programs were held alongside guided explanations.

The newly appointed cultural tourism guides, through their education and training, fully demonstrated their capabilities as guides and provided enjoyment to the visitors. They shared historical stories and interesting episodes about Gilsangsa, which contains stories of Monk Beopjeong and Kim Young-han of Daewongak; Heungcheonsa, which established ties with the early Joseon royal family and took its current form with the support of Heungseon Daewongun in the late Joseon period; and Gyeongguksa, a Goryeo-era temple housing treasures in the Geungnakbojeon Hall. These stories vividly conveyed the various aspects of the temples that visitors might usually overlook.

At Gilsangsa, visitors searched for fun hidden stories throughout the temple, and at Heungcheonsa, they experienced a temple lunch offering. At Gyeongguksa, they learned about the 108 earthly desires by making 108 prayer beads, and during tea time with a monk, they heard entertaining Buddhist stories tailored to the general public’s perspective. They also learned about the ‘Bujeonsamul (佛殿四物)’?the temple’s four ritual instruments: the Beomjong (bronze bell), Beopgo (wooden drum), Unpan (cloud-shaped wooden gong), and Moktak (wooden fish)?and experienced ringing the Beomjong at the bell pavilion to feel its resonance.

This event provided visitors with an opportunity to rediscover the temples of Seongbuk-gu anew alongside the guides. It was also a meaningful time due to the variety of experiences offered. Furthermore, it marked the beginning of activities for the Seongbuk-gu cultural tourism guides.

Seongbuk-gu plans to continue making multifaceted efforts to widely promote the hidden historical and cultural tourism resources throughout Seongbuk-gu together with the guides through more diverse programs in the future.