Gakhwangjeon Hall of Hwaeomsa Temple, Gurye

Gakhwangjeon Hall is one of the two main buildings in Hwaeomsa Temple, along with Daeungjeon Hall.

It is said that originally there was a Buddhist worship hall here built by the eminent monk Uisang (625-702) of the Silla kingdom (57 BCE-935 CE). The inside walls of this building were decorated with green stone plates that had the Avatamsaka Sutra engraved on them. However, the old building and the sutra were destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592-1598. Fragments of the stone sutra are currently displayed in the temple’s museum.

The construction of Gakhwangjeon Hall took place from 1699 to 1702, and a seated buddha triad and four standing bodhisattvas were enshrined in the hall in 1703. The buddha triad is composed of Sakyamuni Buddha in the center with Amitabha (Buddha of the Western Paradise) and Prabhutaratna (Buddha of Abundant Treasure) to his left and right, respectively.

This large-scale project to build Gakhwangjeon Hall was made possible thanks to the extensive support from the royal court. According to historical records, the construction of the hall was financed in the name of Prince Yeoning (b. 1694, later King Yeongjo, r. 1724-1776), the son of King Sukjong (r. 1674-1720) and his concubine Lady Choe (1670-1718). An enormous amount of money and manpower were invested in the construction of the hall to wish for a bright future for the young prince. When the hall was ready, King Sukjong personally bestowed its name, Gakhwangjeon.

The name can be read in two ways: “The place where the enlightened king (the Buddha) resides” or “The place that enlightens the king (Sukjong).” The plaque with the name of the hall was calligraphed by the well-known calligrapher Yi Jin-hyu (1657-1710).

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08