Songgwangsa Temple

Songgwangsa stands on the slopes of Jogyesan in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, and is the head temple of the 21st district of the Jogye Order. Together with Tongdosa (the Buddha) and Haeinsa (the Dharma) it is one of Korea's Three Jewel Temples; having produced 16 National Preceptors between the Goryeo period and early Joseon, it represents the Sangha, the community of monks. More than 80 buildings line a mountain stream, making it a calm place to explore wooden architecture and Buddhist heritage.

History: from Gilsangsa to Suseonsa

Tradition says it began as a small temple called Gilsangsa, founded by the monk Hyerin at the end of the Silla period. After a plan to expand it under King Injong of Goryeo came to nothing, it lay abandoned for some fifty years until Bojo Guksa Jinul moved his meditation community here. Jinul rebuilt the temple in the 1190s, and King Huijong renamed it Suseonsa and changed the mountain's name from Songgwangsan to Jogyesan. Beginning with Jinul's successor Jingak Guksa Hyesim, 16 National Preceptors came from here over roughly 180 years. The temple was badly damaged in the Japanese invasion of 1597 and the Korean War, but repeated rebuilding has given it its present form.

What to see

• Samcheonggyo and its pavilion: a stone bridge over the stream with a pavilion built on top, bridge and pavilion leading together towards the main hall.
• Daeungbojeon: the main hall, flanked by Seungbojeon and Jijangjeon.
• Guksajeon (National Treasure): the hall holding the portraits of the temple's 16 National Preceptors.
• Treasures: the temple holds four National Treasures, including a small wooden triad Buddha shrine, a Goryeo royal appointment document for Hyesim, an illustrated Avatamsaka Sutra painting and Guksajeon itself, plus many other designated objects.
• Bisari Gusi: a huge wooden rice container said to have held enough rice to feed 4,000 monks.
• Buril-am and the Musoyu-gil: the hermitage where the monk Beopjeong lived and wrote is about a 30-minute climb from the temple along the "path of non-possession".

Good to know

Several stories explain the name Songgwang. One reads the character song (pine) as "eighteen" plus "venerable", foretelling eighteen great monks who would spread the teaching; another says Jinul flew a carved wooden kite from Mohusan and founded the temple where it landed, on the hill behind today's Guksajeon; a third derives it from an old name meaning "pine mountain". The temple also has an international Seon centre where foreign monks practise. At Cheonja-am, a hermitage higher up the mountain, grow two ancient junipers protected as a Natural Monument, the Ssanghyangsu.

Tripto tips

• Admission: free since 4 May 2023.
• Walk to Seonamsa: a mountain trail over the Gulmokjae pass links Songgwangsa with Seonamsa on the other side of Jogyesan. It usually takes just over 3 hours, about 4 hours if you stop at a barley-rice restaurant on the way.
• Getting there: take a city bus or taxi from central Suncheon; check the current bus timetable before setting out.
• Templestay: the temple runs overnight templestay programmes; dates are on the official website.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for the temple grounds, 2–3 hours including Buril-am. Much of the temple is a working monastery, so keep your voice down and respect closed areas.