Pyochungsa, originally Jungnimsa, 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 ...

of the

Jogye Order The Jogye Order, officially known as the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, (대한불교조계종, 大韓佛敎曹溪宗), is the leading order of traditional Korean Buddhism, with roots dating back 1,200 years to the late Silla period. Around ...

Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...

. It stands on the slopes of Jaeyaksan mountain near Cheonhwangsan in the

Yeongnam Alps The Yeongnam Alps are a outlying range of the Taebaek Mountains. They consist of a group of relatively tall mountains in the Yeongnam region of southeastern South Korea. They are much shorter than the European Alps, only slightly over 1000 m. ...

in Danjang-myeon, northern

Miryang Miryang () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Neighboring cities include Changnyeong to the west, Cheongdo to the north, Ulsan to the east, and Yangsan, Gimhae, and Changwon to the sout ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Pyochungsa was first established by

Wonhyo Wŏnhyo (; ; 617 – 686, meaning: "Dawnbreak") was one of the most important philosophers and commentators in East Asian Buddhism and the most prolific scholar in Korean Buddhism.Muller, Charles元曉 Wonhyo, ''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism'' ...

in 654 under the name "Jungnimsa." It was rebuilt at its present location by Hwangmyeon in 857, in the reign of the

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

king Heungdeok. In 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, the National Preceptor

Iryeon Il-yeon (; 1206–1289), also spelled Iryeon, was a Korean Buddhist monk and All-Enlightened National Preceptor () during the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. His birth name was either Kim Gyeong-myeong () or Jeon Gyeon-myeong (), and his courtesy name w ...

gathered more than a thousand monks there. After

Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

in the late 16th century, the temple was renamed "Pyochuongsa" (temple of fidelity displayed) in honor of Songun Yu Jeong, the monk who led various

righteous armies Righteous armies (), sometimes translated as irregular armies or militias, were informal civilian militias that appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance. The first righteous armies emerged du ...

against the Japanese. The Pyochuong Seowon, the only

seowon () were the most common educational institutions of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. They were private institutions, and combined the functions of a Confucian shrine and a Confucian school. In educational terms, the were primarily occupied wit ...

located within the grounds of a Buddhist temple, was also constructed there in Songun's memory. Due to its rich history and location in the

, Pyochungsa is a leading tourist attraction of Miryang. The temple is home to an incense burner which is designated

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 ...

no. 75. In addition, the entire temple has been designated as

Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that ...

Provincial Monument 17.

External links

Official siteKNTO profile

Naver Encyclopedia entry

{{coord, 35, 31, 57, N, 128, 57, 39, E, region:KR_type:city_source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Buildings and structures in South Gyeongsang Province Buddhist temples in South Korea Miryang Tourist attractions in South Gyeongsang Province