Gapsa Temple Daejeokjeon Hall

Gapsa Temple lies at the foot of Gyeryongsan Mountain. According to one account it was founded in 420, the first year of King Guisin of Baekje, by the monk Ado; according to another it was built in 556 by the monk Hyemyeong — neither account is certain. In 679 Uisang repaired the temple and made it a centre of Hwaeom (Avatamsaka) Buddhist teaching, whereupon it became one of the Ten Great Hwaeom Temples of Silla. It was rebuilt in 859 and 889, but the buildings were burnt down during the Jeongyu War (1597), and it was rebuilt again in the 37th year of King Seonjo (1604). Gapsa Daejeokjeon, also known as Daejeokgwangjeon Hall, is a Buddhist hall enshrining the Three Bodies of the Buddha (Sakyamuni, Amitabha and Vairocana) centred on Vairocana Buddha. Standing beside the site of the original main hall, it has three bays across the front and three bays to the side; its roof is a hip-and-gable roof — the most ornate roof form, whose sides take the shape of the character 八 (eight) — and is built in the "dapo" style, in which bracket sets (gongpo) supporting the eaves are placed not only above the columns but also between them. The central bay has two bracket sets, and each end bay has one. Inside, an altar enshrines the Sakyamuni Buddha flanked by the bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, and the ceiling above the Sakyamuni Buddha is raised one level to create the effect of a canopy.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gongju, Chungnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산