Sinheungsa
신흥사
You walk through it whether or not you meant to — the Ulsanbawi, Biseondae and Geumganggul trails all start past its gate, and the great bronze seated Buddha the park's own trail notes call the Cheongdong Daebul stands on the approach before you reach the temple itself.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 신흥사
- Address
- 1137 Seoraksan-ro, Sokcho, Gangwon State
- Opening hours
- not published by the operator
- Hours notes
- No admission charge is published either. What the temple does run to a timetable is its templestay programme, booked through templestay.com rather than through the temple's own site. Enquiries about the cultural-heritage zone go to 033-636-8755; the temple office is 033-636-7044.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
What to see
Geungnakbojeon Hall
Rebuilt in the mid-eighteenth century, three bays by three under a hipped-and-gabled roof. The peonies and lions on the platform and the triple taegeuk and dragon heads on the stair rails are cited as examples hard to find at any other temple. Designated a Treasure in 2018.
Bojeru Pavilion
Built in 1770, seven bays by two. The ground floor is open between its columns and is the way through to the main hall; upstairs are the drum, the wooden fish, the great bell and the printing blocks, along with a plaque recording that this was a temple prayed in on behalf of the royal house.
Geungnakbojeon Hall selected
Nearby
Seorak Cable Car (Gwongeumseong)
The one ticketed thing on the Sokcho side of Seoraksan, and the one whose hours you cannot look up in advance: the operator posts them a day at a time. The fare page is stable, the timetable is not, and the two are on the same website.
Seoraksan National Park
The park does not publish opening hours, it publishes a table of when you may start walking and when each gate stops you. Read that table before anything else: the Sogongwon trails run on sunrise and sunset, and everything beyond Biseondae runs on a clock that starts at 03:00 in summer.
Donghae Sundaeguk
A sundae-gukbap house in Geumho-dong, Sokcho; its citation records more than forty years and a second generation.
Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market
Sokcho's town-centre market, laid out as separate alleys for fish, dried seafood and household goods. The market-wide hours are given as 08:00–24:00, but individual stalls set both their own hours and their own closing days — check the one you are aiming for.
Stories about this place
- Three Places You Can Reach on Foot from Seoraksan's Sogongwon: The Park, Sinheungsa and the Cable Car
Three things within walking reach of Sogongwon, compared on what you see, whether they cost anything and whether they are tied to a clock. The mountain charges no admission, so what shapes the day is the cable car — and the reason is the terrain, not the fare.
Nearby Food
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