Gwanchoksa Temple Seongmun Gate

Gwanchoksa Temple was founded in 968, the 19th year of King Gwangjong of Goryeo, by the monk Hyemyeong, and visitors must pass through this stone gate to enter the temple grounds. It is a gate of a form found at no other temple in Korea, and is also known as Haetalmun Gate. Square stone pillars stand on either side of the opening, and behind each pillar five long stones are stacked to form the sides of the gate; flat, square stones are laid across the tops of the pillars, giving the whole structure a rectangular profile. After Gwanchoksa Temple was built, gates of this kind were placed at the east, west, south and north to control the crowds of worshippers flocking to the temple, but of these only this eastern gate survives today. There is no precise record of when the stone gate was erected, but it is presumed to date from the Goryeo period, when Gwanchoksa Temple itself was built.

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Where it is

Region

Nonsan, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료