Songnisan is a mountain and

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in South Korea. It lies in the

Sobaek mountains The Sobaek Mountains (, literally mean little Taebaek Mountains) are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are tradi ...

along the border between the

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

and

North Chungcheong Province North Chungcheong Province (), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. No ...

s. Its main attractions are the temple Beopjusa and an especially picturesque peak, Munjangdae (1,029 m). The mountain's highest peak is Cheonhwangbong, at . Literally 'Mountain Removed from Worldliness,' Songnisan is where the 7th-century Buddhist Beopjusa temple is still located.

Park information

The park's total area is 234.5 km2 and is divided into three areas. These are Beopjusa, Hwayang, and Hwabuk. Over 1000 species of fauna live in the park and there are at least 830 species of flora. There are a total of 9 peaks and 17 known temples. The Beopjusa

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple is the largest temple in central Korea and home to several Korean national treasures and the world's largest bronze Buddha.Korea National Park Service, 2006 Before the entrance, and on the hillsides above the Beopjsua temple there are many sculptures of turtles. One can be seen in the river just downstream of the temple and it is made from three boulders. One boulder with carved eyes represents the head and two representing the front flippers.

Munjangdae

Originally, Munjangdae () was called Unjangdae () because of a big peak rises high into sky and is hidden in the cloud. One day, while King

Sejo of Joseon Sejo (; 7 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (), was the seventh monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Sejong the Great and the uncle of Da ...

took a rest and recuperation in Songnisan, a young nobleman appeared in his dream and said "If you climb into the sacred peak and pray there, your body will be improved." According to his words, King Sejo visited the peak and found the book describing the three moral rules to practice five human relations on the top. He read the book all day long on the spot. It was called Munjangdae after that.

References

Sources

* Mountains of South Korea Sangju Parks in North Gyeongsang Province Parks in North Chungcheong Province Mountains of North Chungcheong Province Mountains of North Gyeongsang Province Sobaek Mountains {{NorthChungcheong-geo-stub

Park information

Munjangdae

See also

References

Sources