Bongjeongsa Temple lies on the slopes of Cheondeungsan near Andong, South Korea. It is both an active Buddhist monastery and one of the seven temples included in the UNESCO World Heritage property “Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea.” Visitors come for its restrained mountain setting, layered courtyards and nationally protected wooden buildings, but the site should first be approached as a living place of worship.
Andong’s official tourism service records the temple tradition that the monk Neungin, a disciple of Uisang, founded Bongjeongsa in 672 during the Silla period. The story says a paper phoenix came to rest at the site, inspiring the name Bongjeongsa, or “temple where the phoenix stayed.” This is a foundation tradition rather than a modern archaeological claim, and it remains part of the temple’s cultural identity.
