Magoksa

Temple · Korea

Taehwasan Magoksa

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

A thousand-year-old temple on Taehwasan said to have been founded by Jajang, where two main halls stand one behind the other up the slope.

The Daeungbojeon at Magoksa, its two storeys standing above the temple courtyard. — Hangidan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick facts

Address: 966 Magoksa-ro, Sagok-myeon, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do
Spiritual entities: Jajang (慈藏, 590–658)

About this place

Magoksa is on Taehwasan in Gongju, South Chungcheong, and is said to have been founded by Jajang. Jinul is said to have refounded it in the late Goryeo period, and it is now the head temple of the sixth diocese of the Jogye Order. It is one of the seven temples inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2018 as "Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea". Its designated heritage includes the Daeungbojeon, the Daegwangbojeon, the Yeongsanjeon and a five-storey pagoda.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records Magoksa as a temple founded by Jajang in Gongju, South Chungcheong. It is a thousand-year-old temple on Taehwasan, and Jinul is said to have refounded it in the late Goryeo period.

It is now the head temple of the Jogye Order’s sixth diocese. In 2018 Magoksa and six other mountain temples were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as "Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea".

The Daeungbojeon is a two-storey building of the late Joseon period; the Daegwangbojeon stands in front of it, and together they form the temple’s central halls. The Yeongsanjeon and a late-Goryeo five-storey pagoda also survive.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Founded by Jajang, refounded by Jinul
Said to have been founded by Jajang, and refounded by Jinul in the late Goryeo period.
folk tradition
Power spot
Daegwangbojeon and Daeungbojeon
They stand one behind the other up the slope as the temple’s central halls; the Daeungbojeon is a two-storey late-Joseon building.
documented history
Origin
UNESCO World Heritage, 2018
Inscribed with six other temples as "Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea".
documented history

What people came here to ask for, the state record does not say. It gives who founded and refounded the temple and which buildings survive, and stops. That is why this page carries no petition.

What it has instead is an arrangement. The Daegwangbojeon and the Daeungbojeon stand one behind the other up the slope, and that overlap is how the place is remembered in a single photograph. The 2018 inscription of seven mountain temples was itself a judgement about this kind of siting rather than about any one building.

Claims and evidence levels 4

Magoksa is said to have been founded by Jajang, and to have been refounded by Jinul in the late Goryeo period. folk tradition
It is the head temple of the sixth diocese of the Jogye Order. documented history
The Daeungbojeon is a two-storey late-Joseon building and stands with the Daegwangbojeon as the temple’s central halls; the Yeongsanjeon and a late-Goryeo five-storey pagoda also survive. documented history
In 2018 Magoksa was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list with six other temples as "Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea". documented history

Related guides

How to visit a Korean templeHands together and hands folded, how the bows work, and what to do at the threshold of a hall. Starting with what is different from visiting a Japanese shrine.
The small hall behind the main one — sansingak and samseonggakUphill from the main hall of a Korean temple stands a smaller one, and inside it an old man with a tiger. This is where the indigenous religion sits, inside the Buddhist institution.
Templestay — a night at a templeA programme that puts you inside a temple’s own timetable for a day or two. What you do, which type to book, and what to be ready for.
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.