Sangwonsa

Temple · Korea

Jinyeowon

Health & Healing

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 temple on Odaesan founded in 705, at the centre of the mountain’s Manjushri devotion, and known for the story that King Sejo met the bodhisattva here as a boy and was healed.

The halls of Sangwonsa on Odaesan seen among the trees of the mountain. — 배윤석 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick facts

Address: Odaesan, Jinbu-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon State
Spiritual entities: Mañjuśrī (文殊菩薩, Munsu) · Vairocana (毘盧遮那佛, Birojana)

About this place

Sangwonsa is regarded as the centre of Manjushri devotion on Odaesan. It began in 705 as Jinyeowon, founded by the Unified Silla monks Bocheon and Hyomyeong, and has been called Sangwonsa since the late Goryeo period. Several stories connect it to King Sejo of Joseon, the best known being that he met Manjushri in the form of a boy and recovered from illness. A bell cast in 725 is among the several objects here designated National Treasures.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records that Sangwonsa was founded in 705 (the fourth year of King Seongdeok) by the Unified Silla monks Bocheon and Hyomyeong, and that its first name was Jinyeowon. It came to be called Sangwonsa in the late Goryeo period.

In the Joseon period the records turn to King Sejo. As his illness worsened, Queen Jeonghui consulted the monks Sinmi and Hagyeol and had Sangwonsa rebuilt. The document recording that rebuilding, the Jungchang gwonseonmun, is a National Treasure and is still kept here.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Founded in 705, as Jinyeowon
The Unified Silla monks Bocheon and Hyomyeong founded it; the name Sangwonsa came into use in the late Goryeo period.
documented history
OriginHealth & Healing
Sejo and the Manjushri boy
A boy is said to have scrubbed the king’s back as he bathed in the valley, and to have been Manjushri. The record also notes that Queen Jeonghui had the temple rebuilt as his illness worsened.
folk tradition
Power spot
The bell of 725
A National Treasure, cast twenty years after the temple opened.
documented history
Power spot
The wooden Manjushri boy
A National Treasure, told alongside the Sejo story. Objects found inside it were separately designated a Treasure.
documented history

The association with health comes from Sejo. The story told is that while he was bathing in the valley a boy scrubbed his back, that the boy was Manjushri, and that his illness lifted afterwards. It is a story long told rather than a statement by the temple about what people come here to ask for.

Three things in the grounds are worth knowing. The bell cast in 725, the seated wooden Manjushri boy, and the rebuilding document mentioned above are all National Treasures. Objects found inside the Manjushri figure were designated a Treasure in their own right.

Claims and evidence levels 5

Sangwonsa was founded in 705 (the fourth year of King Seongdeok) by the Unified Silla monks Bocheon and Hyomyeong, under the name Jinyeowon; it has been called Sangwonsa since the late Goryeo period. documented history
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes it as a prayer site of Vairocana and Manjushri and the centre of Manjushri devotion on Odaesan. documented history
As King Sejo’s illness worsened, Queen Jeonghui consulted the monks Sinmi and Hagyeol and had the temple rebuilt; the document recording it, the Jungchang gwonseonmun, is a National Treasure. documented history
It is told that a boy scrubbed King Sejo’s back while he bathed in the valley, that the boy was Manjushri, and that the king’s illness lifted afterwards. folk tradition
Designated objects here include the bell cast in 725, the seated wooden Manjushri boy, and the Jungchang gwonseonmun, all National Treasures; objects found inside the Manjushri figure were designated a Treasure separately. 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.