I had chance to visit Daegu city for my son and decided to visit Unmunsa temple on the way back to Busan in July, 2020.
Daegu was the city that firstly exploded the Covid-19 spread in Korea at the beginning and there were again some new cases arose in July in Daegu. Therefore I didn't want to wander around in the city and visited Unmunsa temple even it was a detour.
Unmunsa temple is located in Cheongdo, Gyeongsangbukdo province and It takes about 1h 30m by driving from Busan. The temple is surrounded by high mountain ranges which is called "Yeongnam Alps". However, the temple itself is on very flat land even the scale of the temple is large.
The temple was originally built in 557, the 18th year of King Jinheung of the Silla Kingdom as the name of Daejakgapsa. In 937 King Taejo, founder of the Goryeo dynasty, bestowed a hanging board inscribed with the name Unmunseonsa on this temple and as much as 500 gyeol (approximately 1,000 acres) of farmland in return for the monk's support for him in his unification of the nation. Since then, the temple has been known as Unmunsa.
It was in this temple that the monk Iryeon of the Goryeo dynasty started writing 'Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms' in 1277 when he was the abbot of Unmunsa. The books are one of the earliest history books in Korea and I strongly believe that the most of Korean people know or at least heard about 'Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms' or 'Samgukyusa' in Korean. Perhaps the books are more famous than the temple.
In 1955, right after the start of the Buddhist Purification Movement, Unmunsa became a nunnery, and a Buddhist seminary for nuns opened in 1958. The Venerable Myeongseong became the abbess of Unmunsa in 1977, and the temple has since grown and established itself as the largest Buddhist nunnery in Korea. It runs Sangha College, Precepts School, and Meditation Center.
Actually the best time to enjoy the temple is during morning prayer. It starts from 4:15 in the morning till 5:30. All the nuns fill in every buildings and chant. The ceremony is truly solemn and sincere when it's still dark outside. If you cannot wake up so early, there is late afternoon chanting from 18:00 to 19:15 as well.
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