| Mountain-spirit Shrines and Icons found on the South Coast of South Jeolla Province, November 2002 This Page: the Kangjin / Kwansan Area |
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| Baek-ryeon-sa [White Lotus Temple] is within easy walking-distance from the Dasan Chodang, on a thickly-forested coastal slope of "Encompassing Virtue Mountain". Here the great 18th-century Neo-Confucian philosopher "Tea Mountain" Jeong Yak-yong shared ideas and green tea with local Buddhist monks. Baek-ryeon-sa is still proud of the fine tea it produces. The old San-shin painting here features a round-faced big-eyed surreal tiger. The San-shin sits on a mat of leaves, similar to the familiar Dan-gun mantle. Found next to it is a Neo-Confucian-style ritual-tablet (like those used in ancestor-memorial services) proclaiming the name and greatness of this Mountain-spirit. The Deok-seong enshrined alongside is much more modern, featuring a coastal-bay view like that near the temple. |
| Geum-gok-sa [Golden Valley Temple] just north of Kangjin Town has an amazing natural-rock "gateway" as entrance (the building seen in front is a restaurant) and an excellent modern San-shin / Deok-seon matched-pair, rich in waterfalls and attendants, in its "Three Sages Shrine". |
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| Cheon-gwan-san [Heavenly-Official Mountain] has been newly named a Provincial Park, and features several small temples. Cheon-gwan-sa perches at 300 m up west on a long bad road; its San-shin is ordinary and folksy, with a prayer-script glued on (both upper shots). The San-shin of Baek-ryeon-sa at the base is quite Shamanic (lower left). Jang-an-sa [Guardian-of-Peace/Safety Temple] on the eastern slope enshrines two statues in front of a Buddhist ritual-pagoda-print, but worships them as one; the fancier icon holds both a crooked staff and an oversized flowering ginseng root. |