Sujongsa Temple (수종사)

Sujongsa Temple is visited heavily by both the believers of the religion as well as average people who enjoy hiking, owing to its mild condition of trekking route reaching about a little over 600 meters, and its convenient location from Seoul. Nestled in Joan-myeon of Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, the temple has a commending view over Bukhangang River, which is rated to have one of the top magnificent views. Thanks to this geological reason, visitors here can hear clearer sounds of bell ringing from the temple, and the soothing water streaming down the mountain peaks and valley. It is no coincident that the place was named after this define sound-effect, thus called sujong, which directly translates into 'water-bell.'

There is another folklore that has been passed down for generations, with regards to the origin of the temple's name. When King Sejo (1417-1468) was returning from the Geumgangsan Mountain trip, he stayed a night in the current Yangsu-ri region, and had heard the bell ring from afar. On the next day, he had his courtiers to look for the bell-ringing source but only ended up finding a cave, where water falling from the cave's ceiling has been making the the supposed 'bell-ringing' sound. Besides the discovery of the cave, King Sejo also found 18 small Buddha statues. To commemorate the excavation, the king ordered to construct a temple at the very site.

Visitors will not be able to see these valuables on-site currently, but still be able to enjoy beautiful sights of Ungilsan Mountain and learn some historical facts. The artifacts from the temple site are now managed by and exhibited at the National Museum of Korea. Although the exact date of the temple's foundation has not been proven yet, experts estimated the period to be during the early Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).