Overview
The name means the temple where fish from heaven play, from a legend about a golden well on the mountain above. It belongs to the Jogye order and runs a temple-stay programme, so the monastery is a place of practice rather than a museum — the halls are in use and the schedule of chanting is posted at the gate. Iljumun, the gate of four columns on a single line, is a rare surviving Joseon-period structure.
Highlights
Take the temple-stay if you have a night: it is the difference between seeing the buildings and seeing what they are for. The hike up Geumjeongsan to the fortress wall starts here and takes two hours to the north gate. Dress modestly and stay out of halls where a service is under way; photography inside the main hall is not allowed.