This temple property was a gift to Venerable Buojeong Sunim, a Buddhist monk whose writing, “Non-Possession” had inspired the owner of the property which had been an upscale restaurant. The owner was a woman named Kim Yeong-han who was a gisaeng ( similar to a Japanese geisha). The story we were told was that she offered the property to the monk for 10 years before he accepted. Her story was a long one….she was widowed at 16 and fell in love with a poet but whose family disapproved of the relationship because of her profession. When she donated the property in the late 20th century it was valued at over $100 million. One can only image what it would be worth today.
I did read that you could stay overnight …. I didn’t look into this but wish I had. The place was away from the noise and bustle of Seoul.
My only Korean lesson… the third symbol means “mountain” and the last symbol means “temple”. This is above the main entrance.
the fall colors always attracts my lens
The small structures are the mediation houses for the monks. (left photo)
