Bongamsa, Buddhist temple in Mungyeong, South Korea.

Bongamsa is a Korean Buddhist temple nestled at the foot of Mount Huiyangsan, with buildings and structures arranged across the mountainous grounds. The complex includes a main temple hall, several subsidiary buildings, and seven smaller hermitages distributed throughout the woodland terrain.

The Seon monk Dohun founded the temple in 879, the fifth year of King Heongang, after the landowner Sim Chung offered him a mid-slope site on Huiyangsan. Two years later the Silla court fixed its boundaries and granted the name Bongamsa. Destroyed in the wars at the end of Silla, it was rebuilt in 935 by the monk Jeongjin, and again restored in 1431 by Gihwa, who wrote there.

The temple is treasured by the Korean Buddhist community as a center of Seon practice, where pilgrims gather each year to honor Buddha's Birthday with prayer and reflection. The carved stone monuments display the artistic mastery of monks from centuries past.

Access to the temple is limited to one day each year when Buddha's Birthday is celebrated in spring, requiring advance planning if you wish to visit. It helps to research opening details ahead of time, as the temple may have specific arrival requirements or limited capacity.

The temple's name was bestowed by the Silla court in 881, two years after the foundation: King Heongang sent the monk Jungong and the official Bae Yul-mun to mark the boundaries and grant the name Bongam. The site itself was land belonging to a man named Sim Chung, who invited the monk Dohun to build on the slope of Huiyangsan.