• North Korea

    Simwonsa Temple – 심원사 (Yontan, Hwanghaebuk-to, North Korea)

    Temple History Simwonsa Temple is located in Yontan-gu, Hwanghaebuk-to, North Korea. And the temple contains the fourth oldest wooden structure, the Pogwang-jeon Hall [Bogwang-jeon Hall] in North Korea. It should be noted that some of the spelling in this post will be based on North Korean spelling. The Pogwang-jeon Hall dates back to 1374, which makes it two years older than the Muryangsu-jeon Hall at Buseoksa Temple in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do and one year older than the Yeongsan-jeon Hall at Geojosa Temple in Yeongcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The exact date of the founding of Simwonsa Temple is unknown; however, it has been claimed that Doseon-guksa (826-898 A.D.) founded Simwonsa Temple. Later, and after…

  • Gyeongsangbuk-do

    Simwonsa Temple – 심원사 (Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do)

    Temple History Simwonsa Temple is located in the northeastern part of Gayasan National Park in Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do. In fact, Simwonsa Temple isn’t all that far away from the famed Haeinsa Temple, which is also located in Gayasan National Park. It’s believed that Simwonsa Temple was first founded during Unified Silla (668-935 A.D.) some time in the 8th century. Yi Sung-in, who was also known under the pen-name of Doeun, and who was born in Seongju during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), wrote about the temple in one of his poems entitled “Gimsimwonjeongro.” In this poem, he describes the temple as “The ancient temple, Simwonsa Temple, stands on Mt. Gayasan.” Additionally, and…