Guinsa

Temple · Korea

Sobaeksan Guinsa

Researched and translated with AI assistance. Every claim is linked to its source, but errors get through, so check the official site for opening times, fees and closures.About

In short

The head temple of the Cheontae Order, founded in 1945, with a five-storey concrete hall that seats ten thousand.

Guinsa filling its narrow valley on Sobaeksan, halls stacked up both slopes. — Steve46814 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Quick facts

Address: 73 Guinsa-gil, Yeongchun-myeon, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do

About this place

Guinsa stands on Sobaeksan in Danyang, North Chungcheong, and is the head temple of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism. Sangwol Wongak founded it in May 1945. In 1951 it was designated the principal hall for propagating Cheontae teaching. Its great hall, the Seolbeopbojeon, is a five-storey modern concrete building that can hold some ten thousand people at once. Its monks work by day and practise by night, and through that the temple runs its own economy.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records Guinsa as the head temple of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism. Sangwol Wongak (1911–1974) founded it in May 1945 under a name meaning "Guinsa, saving the multitudes and delivering all beings".

On 28 December 1951 Guinsa was designated the principal hall for propagating Cheontae teaching.

The great hall, the Seolbeopbojeon, is a five-storey modern concrete building able to hold some ten thousand people at once.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Founded in May 1945
Sangwol Wongak founded it under a name meaning "saving the multitudes and delivering all beings".
documented history
Power spot
The Seolbeopbojeon
A five-storey modern concrete great hall able to hold some ten thousand people at once.
documented history
What people do here
Working by day, sitting by night
The monks work by day and practise by night, and through that the temple runs its own economy.
documented history

What people ask for here, the state record does not say. It covers the founding, the order and the buildings, and not what brings anyone up the valley. That is why this page carries no petition.

What the encyclopedia records instead is how the people who live here live. Guinsa practises jugyeongyaseon — working by day and sitting in meditation by night — and through it runs its monastic economy independently. That is a different arrangement from a temple sustained by donations.

It is also the youngest place on this site. It was founded in 1945 and its main hall is concrete rather than timber. A collection that only ever shows old wood leaves out how people actually worship now.

Claims and evidence levels 4

Guinsa is the head temple of the Cheontae Order of Korean Buddhism and was founded in May 1945 by Sangwol Wongak. documented history
On 28 December 1951 it was designated the principal hall for propagating Cheontae teaching. documented history
The great hall, the Seolbeopbojeon, is a five-storey modern concrete building able to hold some ten thousand people at once. documented history
The monks practise working by day and meditating by night, through which the temple runs its monastic economy independently. documented history

Related guides

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Prayer sites and the one wishThe three great Gwaneum sites, the five relic halls, and the crowds before the entrance exam. Where the saying about one wish comes from, and where the record stops.