Jingwansa Visit Overview
On September 10, 2025, I visited Jingwansa. As far as I remember, it was my first visit. Jingwansa is a temple in nature located in Seoul. If you want to briefly escape the stifling city and feel nature, I recommend it.
Table of Contents
- Early Autumn Visit to Jingwansa and Yeonjiwon
- History of Jingwansa Temple
- Location and Parking at Jingwansa
Early Autumn Visit to Jingwansa and Yeonjiwon
As far as I remember, this was my first visit to Jingwansa.
Are there other temples in Seoul that are closely integrated with nature? It seems like a place many people would visit, and I did see a few foreigners. It’s probably best to avoid holidays if you want a quieter experience.
The lanterns are hung lower than at other temples, and their colorful patterns are quite pretty.
The haeuso (restroom) is unusual. You remove your shoes and carry indoor slippers inside. The trash is emptied, but the floor doesn’t seem to be cleaned very often; there’s quite a bit of dust. A vacuum would take only a few minutes, and it made me want to clean it myself.
Inside Jingwansa is a cafe called Yeonjiwon, located near the restroom. I ordered jujube tea and ginger tea. The jujube tea is more expensive than the ginger tea. The ginger tea isn’t very strong, but it isn’t weak either — you don’t get an intense spicy or sweet ginger flavor. I didn’t notice any residue at first, but after drinking, there were ginger pieces at the bottom.
The walking distance and the size of Jingwansa aren’t very large, but it’s a nice place to enjoy nature.
History of Jingwansa Temple
Master Jingwan helped King Hyeonjong of the Goryeo Dynasty before he ascended the throne. In recognition of this, Jingwansa Temple was completed in 1012 and named after Master Jingwan.
During the Korean War (1950–1953), most of the temple buildings were destroyed.
On May 26, 2009, during the dismantling of the interior of the Chilseonggak Hall, newspapers wrapped in a Taegeukgi (the Korean national flag) were discovered. The Taegeukgi had been drawn over a Japanese national flag. These items were designated as Registered Cultural Heritage No. 458 on February 25, 2010.
Location and Parking at Jingwansa
The road-name address of Jingwansa is 73 Jingwan-gil, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. It’s not far from the border with Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
You can walk about 300 meters after passing the public parking lot and parking at the Jingwansa parking area. For some reason, there was a police car with its engine running parked there the whole time.