Yujŏm-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

Mount Kumgang Mount Kumgang () or the Kumgang Mountains is a mountain massif, with a summit, peak, in Kangwon-do (North Korea), Kangwon-do, North Korea. It is located on the east coast of the country, in Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, formerly part of Kangwo ...

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 ...

. Founded under the kingdom of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

, it underwent many successive restorations before being destroyed by American forces 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 ...

History

Yujom Temple was founded in the 6th century under the fervently

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

kingdom of

. It underwent a major enlargement in 1168 under Emperor Uijong of Koryo, and again in the 15th century. Eventually becoming a major site of pilgrimage and, along with Changansa,

Pyohunsa P'yohun-sa (표훈사, 表訓寺) is a Korean Buddhist temple located on Mount Kumgang, North Korea. Founded in the 7th century under the kingdom of Silla, it is the only one of Mount Kumgang's four great temples to have survived the Korean War ...

, and

Singyesa Singye-sa is a Korean Buddhist temple located in Onjong-ri in Kosong County, Kangwon Province, North Korea. Once one of the largest of the hundreds of temples located in scenic Mount Kumgang, the complex was destroyed by US bombings during the K ...

, was known as one of its Four Great Temples of Mt. Kumgang. It was the largest and the oldest of the four, and at its height it encompassed over 40 buildings. Between 1883 and 1885, it underwent its final enlargement, though it still retained many of its original Silla-era characteristics. During the Japanese administration of Korea, Mount Kumgang became a major tourist site, and the temple (known by its Japanese pronunciation as Yusen-ji) received many visitors to admire its beautiful setting and architecture. Because of this, it underwent significant restoration work funded by this Japanese government during this time. Despite its historical significance, the temple was bombed by US forces during the Korean War, who believed the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

was using it as a base. Due to this, nothing remains today of this famous temple besides its foundation stones.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120301165922/http://www.cybernk.net/infoText/InfoHumanCultureDetail.aspx?mc=CC0802&sc=A405200&tid=CC070100032232

History

References

See also