Jeondeungsa Temple

Jeondeungsa is unusual in that a mountain fortress wraps the whole temple. That fortress is Samnangseong, where Yang Heon-su drove off French troops during the French campaign of 1866. Inside the walls stood the Jeongjoksan archive, which held the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, so the victory was also a victory that saved the Annals. The temple is traditionally said to have been founded in 381 by the monk Ado, though no contemporary record supports it.

📖 The Story

✦ Highlights

• ›Daeungbojeon Hall
  The main hall, begun in 1615 and completed in 1622. It is designated a Treasure.
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  It was rebuilt after a fire in the reign of Gwanghaegun. Architectural historians treat it as an example of mid-Joseon timber joinery, and the ornament inside and out is dense. Do not forget to look up at the four corners of the eaves. That is where the temple's most-told carving is.

• ›The naked figures under the eaves
  Wooden carvings of naked figures holding up the roof at each of the four corners of Daeungbojeon.
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  The story goes that the master carpenter in charge of the rebuilding carved the woman who had betrayed him and run off, so that she would carry the weight of the roof forever. It is the best known tale in the temple, but it is only a tale; others read the figures as rakshasa demons or monkeys set there to guard the dharma. Either way, the posture at all four corners is the same.

• ›The bronze bell
  A Treasure hanging in the bell pavilion. It is a bell made in China that has come down to this temple.
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  It lacks the sound tube and the flying-apsara relief common on Korean bells and has a lattice pattern banding the body, so side by side the shape is noticeably different. It is said to have been requisitioned under Japanese rule and returned after liberation, though the details vary between sources. The pavilion is locked, so you see it through the slatted railing.

• ›Samnangseong and the site of the Jeongjoksan archive
  The fortress that wraps the temple. Inside it stood the archive holding the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and a hall for the royal genealogy.
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  The History of Goryeo records a tradition that Dangun had his three sons build it, which is where the name Samnangseong comes from. The other name, Jeongjoksan, comes from three peaks said to look like the three feet of a cauldron. The Annals were moved here from the Manisan archive in the mid-seventeenth century, and Yang Heon-su's victory in 1866 kept them safe.

• ›The Yang Heon-su victory monument
  A stone marking the 1866 battle at Jeongjoksan fortress. It stands on the wall path near the east gate.
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  The French campaign of 1866 is remembered first as the incident in which France carried off the books of the Outer Gyujanggak, but militarily it also contained a battle that made Joseon's attacker withdraw, and it happened here. Seeing the plundering at the Goryeo palace site and the victory at this monument on the same trip lines up what happened that autumn in a single sentence.

🚶 Self-Guided Walk

1. 1The south gate (Jonghaeru) or the east gate
   You pass through a fortress gate to reach the temple. Entering a fortress before a temple is what marks this place out.
   💡 The east gate is closer to the car park; the south gate suits walking the wall.
2. 2Daejoru Pavilion
   The pavilion standing across the approach to the main hall. You pass beneath it into the courtyard.
3. 3Daeungbojeon Hall
   The temple's central hall. Stand in the courtyard and look for the carved figures at the four corners of the eaves.
   💡 There is one at every corner, so walk right round the hall.
4. 4Yaksajeon Hall and the bell pavilion
   The Treasure-designated hall beside Daeungbojeon, and the bell seen through the slatted railing.
5. 5The site of the Jeongjoksan archive
   Where the Annals were kept. A reconstructed building stands there now.
   💡 Knowing that this is what was saved in 1866 changes the impression entirely.
6. 6The Samnangseong wall path and the victory monument
   Follow the wall and you reach the monument. Temple and battle sit inside one enclosure.
   💡 Parts of the wall path are unpaved, so choose your shoes accordingly.

🧭 Visitor Info

💡 Good to Know

• You pass the fortress gate before the temple. You buy your ticket at the Samnangseong office and enter through the walls.
• Admission is around 4,000 won and it changes, so check at the ticket office.
• The founding date of 381 is a tradition. You will often see the temple called the oldest in Korea, but no contemporary record supports it.
• Ganghwa Island has no subway. Take an intercity bus from Seoul to the Ganghwa terminal, then continue from there.
• Allow about two hours if you walk the wall as well. The temple alone takes an hour.

🗺 Pair Your Visit