Daeungjeon Hall of Songgwangsa Temple, Wanju

Daeungjeon Hall (the Great Buddha Hall) is the main sanctum of Songgwangsa Temple. It is a single story structure that is characterized by its traditional Korean hip-and-gable roof and its dimensions measuring five bays wide and three bays deep.

This Buddhist monastery was originally bulilt on the ruins of the 1592 Japanese invasion of Korea through the benevolent power of the Buddha and the Bodtisattva. The Great Zen Master Seungmyeong prepared the site of the Buddhist sanctum in 1623 under the supervision of his dharma teacher, the Great Zen Master Byeokam Gakseong (1575-1660), and devotedly endeavored for 15 years on its construction. In 1638, the worship hall was completed at last as a two-story structure with seven bays across its facade and five bays on its side.

After this, the situation deteriorated as the monastery’s original grandeur could not be maintained. In 1857, the Great Zen Master Yongweol Jeongil downsized the monastery and reconstructed it to its present dimensions. At the time of the reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall, the Great Zen Master Wanpa Wigyu declared,

“Washed by the rain, blown by the wind, the Buddha Hall collapsed. As the days and months passed, the light of the Buddha statue changed and darkened. I could not bear to see such a terrible sight. I would rather wear out my feet so that they disappear or have my body be destroyed than quit this life without having built the Buddha Hall.”

It required the mobilization of 53 master craftsmen for 49 days to dismantle the original Great Buddha Hall. The rebuilding took seven months although its scale had been reduced to a one-story structure. The Great Zen Master Jeongil, who led the temple at that time, said, “Facing death ten-thousand times would not have deterred my resolve to finish this reconstruction.”

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