Bongeunsa Temple

Just a few kilometers west, amidst the hectic Gangnam district, is Bongeunsa, a colorful, prominent Buddhist temple that is among the most well-known in the city. Given the location, entering feels like a gentle escape into an oasis with lanterns. Even if you don’t manage to see the temple, if you’re nearby, you’ll hear its warm tribute. At 4:10 a.m. and 6:40 p.m. every day, a percussion ceremony is performed by the temple’s monks, using four instruments intended to awaken beings from all the elements.

Originally founded in AD 794, the temple has since served as an all-seeing ancestor of the city. Once surrounded by open countryside, family farms, and humble orchards, today it stands as a landmark in what has become one of Seoul’s busiest, wealthiest, and most modern neighborhoods. Bongeunsa distinguishes itself and is profoundly emblematic of the capital’s appeal, for not merely surviving the changes but also adapting to them in a way that comprises the old and the new so gracefully.

Like seemingly everything in Seoul, it has undergone multiple reconstructions and renovations, but they have all been meticulous in preserving the original purpose of the site as a center for Korean Buddhism. The complex includes several beautiful structures, statues, a garden, and a hall for Zen meditation.

It is perhaps the most profound symbol of the harmonious coexistence of the traditional and the modern elements of Seoul…especially given the distraction of what’s literally across the street.

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