Jeongnimsa () was a major Buddhist temple in the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

capital of Sabi, now located in

Buyeo County Buyeo County () is a county in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Buyeo-eup, the county's capital, was the site of the capital of Baekje from 538-660 AD, during which it was called Sabi Fortress. Famous people associated with Buyeo County ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province (), informally called Chungnam, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to ...

, South Korea. It was constructed in 538 and continued to be used in to the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

period (918–1392). In 2015, it was made a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, as part of the item

Baekje Historic Areas The Baekje Historic Areas () is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of eight monuments in three cities in South Korea: Gongju, Buyeo-eup, Buyeo, and Iksan. They relate to the last period of the Koreanic kingdom Baekje (18 BC to 660 CE), repr ...

. On March 26, 1983, it was made a Historic Site of South Korea. Currently the temple's former site is occupied by a museum called the Jeongnimsaji Museum ().

History

The temple was built in the middle of Sabi when the city was established in 538 (

Korean calendar Throughout its many years of history, various calendar systems have been used in Korea. Many of them were adopted from the Lunar calendar, lunar Chinese calendar system, with modifications occasionally made to accommodate Korea's geographic locat ...

). The city was then surrounded by a city wall. The temple was likely among the most significant in the city, and was placed intentionally relative to the city's royal palace. It had ponds on its east and west sides. It continued to be used into the Goryeo period. In 1933, a building was constructed to protect a historic stone Buddha statue in the temple. It was first excavated in 1942 during the 1910–1945 Japanese colonial period. That year, the name of the temple was confirmed when Japanese archaeologist found an inscription with the temple's name at its ruins: "8th year of Taepyeong, Mujin Jeongnimsa Temple Daejangdangcho" (). The inscription commemorates the rebuilding of a building "Daejangdang" in the temple in the year 1028, during the Goryeo period. The site was excavated by

Chungnam National University Chungnam National University (CNU; ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities located in Daejeon, South Korea. History Chungnam National University was founded in 1952. Its motto is "Creativity, Development, and Service to the com ...

's museum in 1979 and 1980. Excavations from 2008 to 2010 by the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage discovered the sites of buildings.

Current status

Extant remains of the temple include a five-storied stone pagoda, which is a

National Treasure of South Korea National Treasure () is a national-level designation within the Heritage preservation in South Korea, heritage preservation system of South Korea for tangible objects of significant artistic, cultural and historical value. Examples of objects inc ...

, and , which is a Treasure of South Korea. The latter is from the

period.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Jeongnimsa Buyeo County Baekje Historic Areas Historic Sites of South Korea Buildings and structures of Baekje Former Buddhist temples in South Korea 6th-century establishments in Korea