Banya-bong  Yeon-gok-sa
반야봉 연곡사
in the Eastern-Southwest Sector of Jiri-san
(below Tongkkok-bong, Banya-bong and Samdo-bong Peaks)
Yeon-gok-sa is one of Jiri-san's great ancient traditional temples, sited directly south of Samdo-bong,
the peak where the borders of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang Provinces all meet (it's
in front of the great
Banya-bong).  It is claimed by some to have been founded in 543 by Master Yeon-
gi-josa (he founded nearby Hwaeom-sa in 544), but archaeologists think that it was probably founded
near the end of the Unified Shilla Dynasty (9th Century).  It is said to have been renovated by the great
Geomancy and Meditation Master
Doseon-guksa; he may actually have been this temple's founder.

It was renowned as an excellent
Suseondo-ryang [Practicing Way of Meditation Site] from the 900s
through the 1500s.  It was burned down and looted during the Japanese
Imjin invasion, and then
rebuilt, but destroyed again by Japanese soldiers fighting the Korean Resistance in the early 20th Cen.
Tragically leveled yet again during the Korean War by South Korean soldiers fighting communist
partisans, it was finally re-constructed in 1981 -- it's now humble & quiet, far from its former splendor.
The Beob-dang or Main Hall
The newly-built Samseong-gak [Three Sages Shrine] -- a modern temple
building, which certainly did not exist in the original complex.
The excellent modern San-shin painting now in that shrine, quite unusually
featuring two tigers -- perhaps a male-female couple for harmony and fertility.  
Two white cranes cavort on the left of the main figure holding a handicrafted
leaf-style fan.  The girl
dongja holds a golden bottle (presumably of medicinal
wine) while the boy
dongja carries in a natural gourd (ditto) -- an interesting
yin-yang parallelism of the crafted and the natural...
The excellent modern Chil-seong and Dok-seong icons that accompany that San-shin.
As usual, a boy
dongja prepares green tea for his enlightened master.
the location of the "Northern Stupa", a steep climb uphill above the temple.
The "Northern Stupa", with Guardian figures carved on its octagonal shrine-body.
It was probably carved in the early Goryeo Dynasty (10th century), but which
great monk's cremains it honors remains unknown.
This excellent San-shin painting was
enshrined in the Main Hall when I made
my second visit here in 1998 -- the above
Samseong-gak had not yet been built.   
It is elaborate and skillfully-detailed; the
modern-realistic tiger's gaze is intense.  
It has two unique features -- the prominent
gold base of his royal crown, and the "flying
scarf" on his shoulders (usually seen on a
dongja attendant; rarely for a recent San-
shin icon, no
dongja is shown).
A square Lotus Pond with a round Island in it is a classical
feature in front of the new Abbot's Residence, in the temple's
foreground.
Further in this Section --  the
Eastern-Southwest Sector of Jiri-san:
the Stupa of Doseon-guksa?
Pia-gol Scenic Valley
Bullak-sa, Hansan-sa & Cheonwang-sa


.
The Chil-seong painting is actually quite unusual and
interesting, featuring the Ok-hwang-sangje or Jade
Emperor of Heaven (supreme Daoist deity) front-and-
center with a bizarre double-star crown (above-left); ministers and behind him with differing
prayer-mudras.  The seven earthly officials reflecting the seven stars are depicted like San-shins
(above and right) -- one holds a white-crane-feather-fan, one holds a
bullocho sprig,  and
another performs a Buddhist mudra while wearing a full-length Daoist-style cowl.  I don't think
that the artist intended that we think these holy gentlemen are San-shins -- he was probably
playfully mixing the usual motifs around.  I've never seen one quite like this before...