Jogyesa Temple

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul. We're in busy Jongno, surrounded by office towers, and suddenly... lotus lanterns, chanting, and the smell of incense. Welcome to Jogyesa, the head temple of the Jogye Order, the largest order of Korean Buddhism.

Here's a surprising fact. For centuries in the Joseon dynasty, Buddhist monks were banned from even entering the capital! Joseon was built on Confucian ideas, and temples were pushed out to the mountains. The ban was finally lifted in 1895. So in 1910, Buddhists built a temple called Gakhwangsa, right inside the old city. Jogyesa grew out of it.

In 1938, the big main hall, Daeungjeon, was completed here. And now the plot twist: its pillars and beams came from the main hall of a completely different religion, a new Korean faith called Bocheongyo. That group was forced to sell the building, the Buddhist community bought it, and rebuilt it right here. The temple was first named Taegosa, and after Korea's liberation, it became Jogyesa.

In the courtyard, find the tree with white bark. It's a lacebark pine, Natural Monument No. 9, more than 450 years old. Older than the temple itself! And before Buddha's Birthday, the whole temple glows with lanterns. That lantern festival, Yeondeunghoe, joined UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list in 2020. Daebak!

Yul's tip! Don't step on the door thresholds, use the side doors of the main hall, not the center one, and don't disturb people praying. Curious about monk life? Ask about Templestay at the center across the street.

Next, a red-brick cathedral on a hill in Myeongdong. Kaja!