Suncheon Songgwangsa Temple Eungjindang Hall

The Eungjindang Hall of Songgwangsa Temple is also known as Nahanjeon Hall or Eungjinjeon Hall, and it enshrines sixteen statues of arhats (nahan, enlightened disciples of the Buddha) along with a painting of the sixteen arhats. Located on Jogyesan Mountain, Songgwangsa Temple has produced more eminent monks than any other temple in Korea and is known as a temple of the "Sangha Jewel", one of Korea's Three Jewel Temples representing the monastic community; it is also one of the country's three great temples and a site of long and distinguished history. The temple's name, "Songgwang", is said to derive from Songgwangsan, the old name of Jogyesan Mountain. There is no precise record of when the temple was founded, but tradition holds that it was established by the monk Chejing in the late Silla period. Eungjinjeon Hall stands on a high stone platform and has an elegant, restrained appearance. It measures three bays across the front and three bays to the side, and has a gable roof, with bracket structures supporting the eaves placed only above the columns. Inside, a wood-plank floor was laid and no interior columns were erected, making efficient use of the narrow space, while the ceiling is an exposed-rafter ceiling that leaves the rafters visible, with an ornate canopy installed only above the altar. First built in 1504, the tenth year of King Yeonsangun, Eungjinjeon Hall was rebuilt in 1623 and has undergone several repairs since, yet it has preserved its original appearance without significant change, making it a valuable source for gauging the period of its construction.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산