Seonamsa Temple Wontongjeon Hall

There are two accounts of the founding of Seonamsa Temple: one holds that it originated when the monk Ado built Biroam Hermitage in the seventh year of King Seong of Baekje (529); the other holds that State Preceptor Doseon founded it and named it Seonamsa Temple in the first year of King Gyeongmun of Unified Silla (861). In the fifth year of King Seonjong of Goryeo (1088), Uicheon rebuilt the temple, but most of its buildings burned down during the Jeongyu War of 1597, in the 30th year of King Seonjo of Joseon. Various monks subsequently built and repaired the buildings, bringing the temple to its present state. The Wontongjeon Hall of Seonamsa Temple was first built in the first year of King Hyeonjong of Joseon (1660) by the monks Gyeongjun and Gyeongjam and by Great Master Munjeong, and was rebuilt in the 24th year of King Sukjong (1698) by Great Master Hoam. The building standing today was rebuilt again in the 24th year of King Sunjo (1824). It measures three bays across the front and three bays on the side, and has a paljakjibung, a hip-and-gable roof whose side profile resembles the Chinese character 八 (eight). The bracket sets supporting the eaves are of the jusimpo type, set only above the columns, with flower-shaped members placed between the columns to support the elements above. Two additional columns project from the front of the building, giving the floor plan a T-shape, with auxiliary corner columns (hwaljut) supporting the eaves at the hip ends. Seonamsa Temple's Wontongjeon Hall is a modestly sized building notable for its T-shaped floor plan, which is rare in temple architecture.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산