Pyochungsa Temple

This is a shrine dedicated to Master Seosan (1520–1604), who raised monk-soldiers during the Japanese invasions and rendered great service in defending the country. Portraits of his disciples Yujeong and Cheoyeong are also enshrined here alongside his own. When Master Seosan was nine his mother died, and the following year his father died as well; he then went up to Seoul and lived at a temple, studying both letters and martial arts. There he heard the preaching of Master Yeonggwan and began to study the Buddhist teachings, later shaving his head and entering the monkhood himself. In 1549, the fourth year of King Myeongjong, he passed the monks' state examination and was offered an official post, but he declined it and instead travelled among the famous mountains, meeting younger students and guiding them with care. When the Japanese invasions broke out in 1592, the twenty-fifth year of King Seonjo, he, though already old, issued a proclamation calling on monks throughout the country to take the lead in defending the nation. He himself raised more than 1,500 monk-soldiers on Myohyangsan Mountain; his disciple Yujeong raised more than 700 on Geumgangsan Mountain; and Cheoyeong raised more than 1,200 on Jirisan Mountain. Together they rendered great service in driving out the Japanese forces around Sunan, Pyeongyang and other areas. After the war he received the highest honorific title given to a monk, together with the senior second court rank of dangsanggwan, and he died at Myohyangsan Mountain in 1604, the thirty-seventh year of King Seonjo. This building was erected in 1788, the twelfth year of King Jeongjo of Joseon. It has a three-bay front, and the roof, seen from the side, is a gabled roof shaped like the character 人 (person).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Haenam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물