Yongmyong Temple () was 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 at the foot of

Moranbong Moranbong or Moran Hill (literally "PeonyHill", often "PeonyPeak") forms a park located in central Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Its summit is the location of the Pyongyang TV Tower. There are multiple monumental structures located o ...

hill in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

, North Korea. Prior to its destruction in 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 ...

, it was the largest and most important center of

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 ...

worship in Pyongyang. It is unknown when the temple was founded, but it is popularly believed to be from the end of the

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

period. During the Japanese colonial period, the temple was called Eimei-ji in Japanese.

History

Though it is unknown when the temple was founded, popular tales date it to the end of the Goguryeo period. The temple was completely rebuilt under the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. Under the

Japanese occupation of Korea Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon, Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji period, Meiji government, military ...

, the temple became a major tourist site in Pyongyang and was renowned for its beautiful riverside location and many cherry trees. In the 1920s it again underwent an extensive restoration funded by the Japanese government, who also officially changed its name to the Japanese reading of its

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: "Eimei-ji". During that time, the temple was also confiscated from by the government, and given for use as a headquarters for the

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

sect of Japanese

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhism. The Rinzai monks were tasked with converting the citizens away from traditional

Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...

as part of a government program to replace the old Korean culture with that of modern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Mok, Jeung-bae ''The Buddhist Reform Movement in Modern Times''
/ref> The historic temple was destroyed during the U.S.

carpet bombing Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in th ...

s of Pyongyang during the Korean War. The only building of the temple now standing is Pubyŏk Pavilion, a scenic lookout which was reconstructed after the war and was known for its beautiful views of the

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening ...

; its stone pagoda and octagonal shrine also survived the bombings, and all three are registered as

National Treasures of North Korea A National Treasure (국보; 國寶 : ) is a tangible artifact, site, or building deemed by the Government of North Korea to have significant historical or artistic value to the country. History The first list of Korean cultural treasures was des ...

. The temple ran the Pobun Hermitage, located on Mt. Ryongak in Mangyŏngdae-guyŏk. In 2012 the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...

reported the "reconfirmation" of Lair of King Tongmyong's Unicorn, from Yongmyongsa. The discovery is credited to the History Institute of the DPRK, and the report states that "Unicorn Lair" is carved on a rock at the site. The report of the discovery also states this "proves that Pyongyang was a capital city of Ancient Korea".

References

{{coord, 39.0415, N, 125.7620, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:KP, display=title Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Buddhist temples in North Korea Destroyed temples