Anhwa-sa is a

Korean Buddhist temple Buddhist temples are an important part of the Korean landscape. This article gives a brief overview of Korean Buddhism, then describes some of the more important temples in Korea. Most Korean temples have names ending in ''-sa'' (사, 寺), whic ...

located on Mt. Songak in the historic city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Once one of the smallest of the many temples in Kaesong, today it is the only one to have survived the Korean War.

History

Anhwa Temple was founded under the Koryo dynasty in 930 AD, originally named as Anhwa Seon-Won (安和禪院). The temple was founded to mourn Wang Shin (王信), who was the younger brother of

Taejo of Goryeo Taejo of Goryeo (31 January 877 – 4 July 943), also known as Taejo Wang Geon (; ), was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three ...

sent to

Later Baekje Hubaekje or Later Baekje (, ) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Taebong and Silla. Later Baekje was a Korean dynastic kingdom founded by the disaffected Silla general Gyeon Hwon in 900, whom led the local gentry and popul ...

and was later killed by

Gyeon Hwon Gyeon Hwon (; 867 – 27 September 936, r. 892 – March 934) was the king and founder of Later Baekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, and reigned from 892 to 935. Some records render his name as "Jin Hwon" (진훤). He was also the prog ...

for the death of his son Jin Ho (眞虎). In 1117 AD, the temple became a large temple of national importance. The ''pyeonaek'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "framed title", 편액,扁額) of the building was written by

Emperor Huizong of Song Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China. He was also a very well-known calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the ...

due to a request made by

Yejong of Goryeo Yejong of Goryeo (11 February 1079 – 15 May 1122) (r. 1105–1122) was the 16th monarch of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. He was the eldest son of Sukjong of Goryeo, King Sukjong and Queen Myeongui, and succeeded to the throne upon his father's dea ...

and was sent to

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

along with buddha statues and treasures. Its location, on the south face of Mt. Songak, was specifically chosen for its good feng shui. During the

Yi dynasty The House of Yi, also called the Yi dynasty (also transcribed as the Lee dynasty), was the royal family of the Joseon dynasty and later the imperial family of the Korean Empire, descended from the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye. All of his descendant ...

, the government funded several restorations of the buildings. The temple suffered some damage from US bombings during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, including the destruction of Myongbu Hall (). Today, there remains Taeung Hall (), the temple's main shrine; Obaek Hall (, "Hall of Five Hundred") filled with innumerable small Buddhist statues; and the monks' living quarters and kitchen. There is also a stone pagoda dating to the original Koryo-era temple. The temple was restored in 1989.

References

Kaesong Buddhist temples in North Korea 10th-century establishments in Korea Religious buildings and structures completed in 930 10th-century Buddhist temples {{Korea-reli-stub