Beopjusa Temple
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries In Korea (2018); The Palsangjeon Is Korea'S Only Surviving Wooden Five Storey Pagoda · Boeun, North Chungcheong
Beopjusa is one of the great Buddhist monasteries of Korea, set in a forested valley at the foot of Songnisan in North Chungcheong. Tradition dates its founding to 553, in the reign of the Silla king Jinheung, by the monk Uisin, and in 2018 UNESCO inscribed it as one of the seven Sansa, the Buddhist mountain monasteries of Korea. Its best-known building is the Palsangjeon, a five-storey wooden pagoda hall rebuilt in the early 17th century after the temple burned during the Japanese invasions that began in 1592, and the only wooden pagoda of its kind left in the country. Near it stand a gilt-bronze standing Maitreya Buddha about 33 metres tall, a Silla stone lantern held up by two lions and a stone lotus basin, the last two both National Treasures. The temple is also the gateway to Songnisan National Park: the gentle Sejo-gil forest walk and a stiff climb to the rock summit of Munjangdae at 1,054 metres. Buses run from Cheongju and Boeun to the Songnisan terminal, where restaurants serve mountain vegetable bibimbap, and the temple offers templestay.
405 Beopjusa-ro, Songnisan-myeon, Boeun, North Chungcheong, 28901, South Korea
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the temple precinct is open every day of the year, roughly from sunrise or about 5 or 6 am to about 6 or 7 pm in summer and earlier in winter, with the ticket gate closing about an hour before; there is no weekly closing day. Mountain trails have a daily entry cut-off in the afternoon and fire-season closures in spring and late autumn. The last buses from the Songnisan terminal to Cheongju and Boeun leave in the early evening. The traps that ruin a day are a summit route closed for the fire season, starting Munjangdae too late for the trail cut-off, autumn weekend traffic over the Malti pass and missing the last bus out. Confirm current times before relying on them.