Naksansa

Temple · Gangwon

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In short

Burned four times and rebuilt each time; the 2005 wildfire took even its bronze bell, a Treasure whose designation was then revoked.

The Wontongbojeon hall of Naksansa in Yangyang. — Ashy Minivet / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Quick facts

Address: 100 Naksansa-ro, Ganghyeon-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon
Spiritual entities: Avalokiteśvara (Kannon · Gwaneum, 観音菩薩)

About this place

Naksansa stands in Ganghyeon-myeon, Yangyang, and is said to have been founded by the master Uisang in 671. After the founding, fire in 786 destroyed most of the temple buildings; the national master Beomil rebuilt the Buddha hall in 858 and enshrined an image of the bodhisattva Jeongchwi. Fire in the mid-tenth century destroyed most of it again; it was rebuilt in the Goryeo period, and in the early thirteenth century Yi Gyu-bo and others repaired the Avalokitesvara image and enshrined objects within it. In 1950, during the Korean War, the whole temple burned once more. The Wontongbojeon was newly built in 1953, and by 1999 the seven-storey pagoda had been repaired and the Museoljeon, Muidang, bell pavilion, Simgeomdang and Geunhaengdang halls raised. On 5 April 2005 a large wildfire along the east coast of Gangwon destroyed the temple buildings and also the bronze bell of Naksansa, which had been designated a Treasure in 1968; because of that fire the bell’s designation was revoked. The Naksansa precinct is designated a Historic Site.

Origin and history

Naksansa is said to have been founded by the master Uisang in 671.

After the founding, fire in 786 destroyed most of the temple buildings; the national master Beomil rebuilt the Buddha hall in 858 and enshrined an image of the bodhisattva Jeongchwi. Fire in the mid-tenth century destroyed most of it again; the temple was rebuilt in the Goryeo period, and in the early thirteenth century Yi Gyu-bo and others repaired the Avalokitesvara image and enshrined objects within it.

In 1950, during the Korean War, the whole temple burned once more. The Wontongbojeon was newly built in 1953, and by 1999 the seven-storey pagoda had been repaired and the Museoljeon, Muidang, bell pavilion, Simgeomdang and Geunhaengdang raised, giving the temple a new aspect.

On 5 April 2005 a large wildfire along the east coast of Gangwon destroyed the temple’s buildings and also the bronze bell of Naksansa, designated a Treasure in 1968. Because of that fire the bell’s designation was revoked.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Four destructions
Fire in 786, in the mid-tenth century, in the Korean War of 1950 and in the wildfire of 2005 destroyed the temple, and it was rebuilt each time.
documented history
Origin
A designation revoked
The 2005 wildfire destroyed the bronze bell designated a Treasure in 1968, and because of that fire the designation was revoked.
documented history
What people do here
The Jeongchwi image of 858
After the fire of 786 the national master Beomil rebuilt the Buddha hall in 858 and enshrined an image of the bodhisattva Jeongchwi.
documented history

Read in order, this temple’s record gives four years of burning: 786, the mid-tenth century, 1950 and 2005. It was rebuilt each time, which is why most of what stands today is recent.

The fire of 2005 left a different kind of result from the other three. The bronze bell designated a Treasure in 1968 burned with the buildings, and because of the fire the designation was revoked. Nowhere else on this site is there a case of a designated heritage object burning and being struck from the register. That when a thing is gone the listing goes too is recorded here in a single line.

Other Gangwon temples carry similar lists. Woljeongsa burned in 1307, in 1833 and during the January retreat; Sinheungsa in 1642; Baekdamsa seven times. On this province’s pages the chronology of loss and rebuilding is often longer than the founding account.

Hongryeonam, this temple’s hermitage, has its own entry on this site. The account of that hall above the sea cave belongs to that page.

Claims and evidence levels 2

The temple was destroyed by fire in 786, in the mid-tenth century, in 1950 and in the wildfire of 5 April 2005. documented history
The bronze bell designated a Treasure in 1968 was destroyed in the 2005 fire and its designation was revoked. 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.