Haeinsa Temple

Haeinsa sits halfway up Gayasan in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, and is famous for the Tripitaka Koreana, the Buddhist canon carved on wooden blocks in the Goryeo period, and for Janggyeong Panjeon, the halls built to store them. It is the head temple of the 12th district of the Jogye Order and the Dharma temple among Korea's Three Jewel Temples. Janggyeong Panjeon was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, and the woodblocks are on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, giving one temple two UNESCO listings.

History: founded in 802

Tradition says the monks Suneung and Ijeong founded the temple in 802, the third year of King Aejang, with royal support after they cured the queen of an illness. Wang Geon, founder of Goryeo, enlarged it in gratitude to the monk Huirang, who had helped him during the wars of the Later Three Kingdoms. The Goryeo woodblocks were brought here in the early Joseon period (sources differ: 1393 or 1398). The temple has burned more than five times; after a fire in 1817 it was rebuilt in 1818, so most buildings date from late Joseon. Janggyeong Panjeon, however, survived the Japanese invasions and every fire. In September 1951, during an anti-guerrilla campaign in the Korean War, Air Force Colonel Kim Young-hwan refused an order to bomb the temple, saving it and the woodblocks. The influential Seon master Seongcheol lived here and died in 1993.

What to see

• Janggyeong Panjeon: four storage halls arranged in a rectangle. The northern hall, Beopbojeon, and the southern hall, Sudarajang, each measure 60.44 m long, 8.73 m wide and 7.8 m high. Janggyeong Panjeon was designated a National Treasure in 1962. Their exact date is unknown, but they are thought to have been rebuilt on a large scale under King Sejo in 1457; they are the oldest buildings at Haeinsa and are regarded as the oldest surviving depository of the Tripitaka. Two small halls on the east and west sides hold further woodblocks.
• Tripitaka Koreana: the complete Buddhist canon carved on more than 81,000 wooden blocks (sources differ: 81,258 or 81,350).
• Daejeokgwangjeon: the main hall. Unlike most Korean temples, which enshrine Shakyamuni, it is dedicated to Vairocana.
• The twin Vairocana Buddhas: the Vairocana statue in Beopbojeon was long thought to be a Joseon work, until an inscription found inside it in 2005 showed it dates from Unified Silla. The two Vairocana Buddhas now sit side by side in Daebirojeon.
• Stone pagoda and lantern: the three-storey stone pagoda and stone lantern in the temple grounds survived the many fires.

How Janggyeong Panjeon protects the blocks

The halls stand at the highest point of the temple, about 655 m above sea level. They face southwest to avoid the damp southeasterly winds from the valley, while the peaks behind shield them from the cold north wind. In both main halls the windows on the north and south walls differ in size so that air circulates on its own. The clay floors contain charcoal, lime, salt and sand, which absorb moisture when it rains and release it in the dry winter. Thanks to this the blocks have survived for more than 500 years without damage from rodents or insects. In 1970 a modern storage building was built to take them, but test blocks moved there grew mould and the plan was dropped. The woodblocks themselves were carved in the Goryeo period, between 1237 and 1248.

People linked to Haeinsa

Queen Jinseong, the last queen of Silla, built a memorial hall near Haeinsa for her consort Wi Hong after his death; today's Wondang-am hermitage stands on the site. The inscription found inside the twin Vairocana Buddha also speaks of statues made for a high official and his wife, which scholars link to this story. As Silla fell, Prince Kim Deok-ji, youngest son of its last king Gyeongsun, became a monk here and enshrined a portrait of his father. During repairs in 1964, a robe of King Gwanghaegun, who had the temple renovated in 1622, was found along with an inscription on a ridge beam.

Good to know

The Three Jewel Temples each stand for one of Buddhism's treasures: Tongdosa in Yangsan, which keeps relics of the Buddha, for the Buddha; Haeinsa, which keeps the scriptures, for the Dharma; and Songgwangsa in Suncheon, which produced many great masters, for the Sangha. Haeinsa still oversees some 150 temples and remains an active monastery.

Tripto tips

• Admission: free since 4 May 2023.
• Visiting Janggyeong Panjeon: the halls are protected heritage. Check the temple's official website for whether the interior can be visited and for any reservation-only tours.
• Getting there: Haeinsa lies inside Gayasan National Park. If travelling by public transport, check routes and timetables to Haeinsa from your departure city's bus terminal in advance.
• Templestay: Haeinsa also runs templestay programmes where visitors can experience Buddhist temple life.
• Time needed: allow 1.5–2.5 hours for the main hall and Janggyeong Panjeon.
• Much of the temple is a working monastery: keep your voice down and respect closed areas.