Jeondeungsa Temple

This temple sits inside an old mountain fortress on Jeongjoksan, on Ganghwa Island. Jeondeungsa is said to have been founded in 381 during the Goguryeo period, which would make it the oldest surviving temple in Korea. It is a place full of details to look for, from the carved figures holding up the roof of the main hall to an iron bell cast in Song-dynasty China.

History: a temple and a royal archive inside a fortress

Tradition credits the monk Ado with founding the temple under King Sosurim of Goguryeo, but its history before the mid-Goryeo period is uncertain. It was first called Jinjongsa. After Princess Jeonghwa, consort of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo, made a donation in 1282, it was renamed Jeondeungsa, "temple that passes on the lamp of the Dharma".

Fires in 1605 and 1614 destroyed the entire temple; rebuilding began the following year and it was restored by 1621. The surrounding Jeongjoksanseong Fortress is also known as Samnangseong, after a legend that Dangun, Korea's mythical founder, had his three sons build it. In 1660 an archive for the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, the Jeongjoksan Sago, was set up within the temple grounds.

What to see

• Daeungjeon, the main hall (Treasure): built in 1621, three bays wide and three deep, with a hip-and-gable roof and brackets both on and between the columns.
• The figures under the eaves: at each of the four corners a carved human figure holds up the roof. Legend says the carpenter carved them naked to punish a tavern woman who had run off with his money. Two use both hands and two only one, as if dodging part of the punishment. Some see them as monkeys instead.
• The iron bell (Treasure): a 1.64 m Chinese bell. Its inscription says it was cast in 1097, under the Northern Song, for Sungmyeongsa Temple in Henan. Jeondeungsa's own bell was seized in the Japanese metal requisitions at the end of the colonial period; after liberation this bell, found at the Bupyeong arsenal, was brought here instead.
• Yaksajeon (Treasure): the hall of the Medicine Buddha, believed to heal illness, built around the same time as the main hall.
• The fortress gates: you pass through a gate of the fortress on the way in. From there you can continue on a wooded walk along the wall.

A temple favoured by the royal court

The Joseon court took special care of the temple that guarded its annals. In 1707 the magistrate of Ganghwa, Hwang Heum, rebuilt the archive and added an annex he named Chwihyangdang. In 1726 King Yeongjo visited Jeondeungsa in person and presented a Chwihyangdang name plaque, and in 1749 the temple was repaired with timber he donated. The Jeongjoksan archive was one of four in late Joseon, alongside Jeoksangsan, Odaesan and Taebaeksan, that each kept a set of the annals.

In front of the main hall stands a stone vessel thought to be part of an old water clock. It is easy to miss, so look for it in the courtyard.

Tripto tips

• Time: about 1 hour for the temple, 1.5–2 hours if you walk part of the fortress wall.
• Templestay: the temple runs templestay programmes for Korean and foreign visitors; check dates on the official website.
• Getting there: cross to Ganghwa Island by the Ganghwa or Choji bridge. Sights on the island are spread out, so a car is the easiest option.
• Combine it with: Ganghwa's coastal forts such as Chojijin and Gwangseongbo, and Manisan, for a full day on the island.
• Look closely: walk around all four corners of the main hall and compare the hands of each figure.