Anguksa () is a

Korean Buddhist temple Buddhist temples are an important part of the Korean landscape. Most Korean temples have names ending in ''-sa'' (), which means "monastery" in Sino-Korean vocabulary, Sino-Korean. Many temples participate in the Templestay program, where visitors ...

situated in

Pyongsong Pyongsong (, , officially Phyongsong) is a city in North Korea, the capital city of South Pyongan province in western North Korea. The city is located about 32 kilometres northeast of Pyongyang, and was formally established in December 1969. It ha ...

South Pyongan South Pyongan Province (; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its capital is Pyon ...

Province,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. Built on the slopes of Mt. Pongrin, the temple dates to the Koryo dynasty, though all of the buildings date to later

Joseon dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

renovations. The building is registered as

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

#34.

History

Anguksa was founded in 503 under

Koguryo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

. It was later reconstructed in 1419, and again renovated in 1785 under king Chŏngjo.

Architecture

The temple has a linear layout. Through the temple's front gate is the outer court, with a monument to the temple's construction and a 9-tiered pagoda dating to the original Koryo temple. The

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

tree located in this yard was planted around 1400, and is listed as Living Monument #31. Access to the temple's inner court is through T'aepyŏng Pavilion (, "Pavilion of Perfect Peace"), located across from the main gate/Though very simple on the outside, it is ornately painted within. The sighboard of the hall is said to have been painted by King

Sunjo of Joseon Sunjo (; 29 July 1790 – 13 December 1834), personal name Yi Gong (), was a Korean royal who was the 23rd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of King Jeongjo by his concubine, Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam P ...

. Directly across from the pavilion is Taeung Hall ( "Hall of Great Enlightenment"). As the temple's main prayer hall, Taeung Hall is by far the most impressive of the temple's structures; it is also the largest at 17 by 13 meters long. It has the curious feature of being two-storied in its construction, unlike most other Korean temples of the era, and has two gabled roofs supported by cow's tongue brackets. To the right of Taeung Hall is the temple dormitory; to the left is a library of Buddhist scriptures.

References

{{coord, 39, 18, 2, N, 125, 49, 35, E, region:KR_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in South Pyongan Province Buddhist temples in North Korea National Treasures of North Korea