Sinheungsa, Seoraksan

Temple · Gangwon

Hyangseongsa · Seonjeongsa

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 that changed its name three times, and moved its ground each time it did.

The precinct of Sinheungsa on Seoraksan, Sokcho. — Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Quick facts

Address: 1137 Seoraksan-ro, Sokcho-si, Gangwon
Spiritual entities: Jajang (慈藏, 590–658)

About this place

Sinheungsa stands on Seoraksan in Sokcho and is the head temple of the third district of the Jogye Order. Jajang founded it in 652 as Hyangseongsa, building Gyejoam and Neunginam at the same time. In 701 Uisang moved it to the Neunginam site, rebuilt it and changed the name to Seonjeongsa. Fire destroyed it entirely in 1642; in 1644, while Yeongseo, Yeonok and Hyewon were making their vow to rebuild, they received the instruction of a divine being, built the temple again at a point some ten li below the old Seonjeongsa site, and named it Sinheungsa. In 1965 it became the head temple of the third district, overseeing the temples and hermitages of Sokcho, Gangneung and their districts. Its Geungnakbojeon hall, wooden Amitabha triad, wooden Ksitigarbha triad and Vulture Peak assembly painting are designated Treasures.

Origin and history

Jajang founded the temple in 652 as Hyangseongsa, building Gyejoam and Neunginam at the same time.

In 701 Uisang moved it to the Neunginam site, rebuilt it, and changed the name to Seonjeongsa.

Fire destroyed the temple entirely in 1642. In 1644, while Yeongseo, Yeonok and Hyewon were making their vow to rebuild, they received the instruction of a divine being, built the temple again at a point some ten li below the old Seonjeongsa site, and named it Sinheungsa.

In 1965 it became the head temple of the third district of the Jogye Order, overseeing the temples and hermitages of Sokcho, Gangneung and their districts.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
From Hyangseongsa to Seonjeongsa
Jajang founded it in 652 as Hyangseongsa; in 701 Uisang moved it to the Neunginam site, rebuilt it and renamed it Seonjeongsa.
documented history
Origin
A third site chosen by revelation
In 1644 the rebuilders received the instruction of a divine being and raised the temple some ten li below the old site, naming it Sinheungsa.
folk tradition
What people do here
Head temple of the third district
It became the head temple of the third district of the Jogye Order in 1965, overseeing temples across Sokcho and Gangneung.
documented history

This temple has held three names, and each time the name changed the ground changed with it. Hyangseongsa was the name of 652; moving to the Neunginam site in 701 made it Seonjeongsa; after the fire of 1642 it went about ten li downhill from the old site and became Sinheungsa. Name and land moved together.

This site holds the opposite case. Kamiteine Jinja and Ashiribetsu Jinja in Sapporo are shrines whose ground changed while their names kept hold of the older geography. Here the name followed each time the seat did.

The third site was settled by a dream. In 1644 the three who were vowing the rebuild received the instruction of a divine being and raised the temple at that point. Where to build was decided not by anyone’s survey but by a revelation.

Between the two moves stood a fire. In 1642 the temple burned completely. This passage recurs across Gangwon: Woljeongsa, Naksansa and Baekdamsa in the same province all have large parts of their record filled with burning down and building again.

Claims and evidence levels 2

Founded by Jajang in 652 as Hyangseongsa, renamed Seonjeongsa when Uisang moved it in 701, and rebuilt as Sinheungsa in 1644 after the fire of 1642. documented history
It became the head temple of the third district of the Jogye Order in 1965. documented history

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