Discovering Gyeongsangbuk- do – Yeongcheon-si Part 1

Remember the song “ look for a star?” Looks like we’ll be looking for one today, the Star Yeongcheon, a dear town and a wealthy Yeongcheon, so it says on the homepage. The people have vision too and have set very high goals for the future of Yeongcheon.




Vision of Yeongcheon



City Emblem

The entire shape of the city emblem embodies the first Korean letter of Yeongcheon. The upper green shape contains the image of Bohyeon-san (mountain) and the blue part at the bottom represents Geumho-gang (river), and the red oval in the middle symbolizes the passionate image of Yeongcheon citizens

City Flower-Rose

Rose represents eternity and its glamorous petals and fragrance embody the pride of citizens who pursue future-oriented beauty




City Bird-Pigeon

A Pigeon's white feather combined with green metal luster symbolizes prosperity and its mild character represents cooperative and peaceful characters of local residents.

City Tree-Ginkgo Tree

A ginko tree that stretches straight upward symbolizes endless progress and great improvement of the city and its fanlike leaves represent unity and harmony.

Brand Slogan

• Achieve a dream of being the nation's best world-class city in all fields, such as high-tech industries, cultural tourism, social welfare, first-class education and advanced agriculture.
• Express the shape of the "best of the stars", "nature of the stars" and "harmony of the stars" in calligraphy(by a brush).
• The shape in green is a high spirit of Mt. Bohyeon, the shape in blue is a clear spirit of Geumho River and the three primary colors, red, blue and green means the symbol of Yeongcheon-si.

Yeongcheon is made up of 1 eup, 10 Myeons and 5 Dongs and has for its neighbours, Cheongsong-gun and Gunwi-gun to the north, Gyeongju city and Pohang city to the east, Gyeongsan city and Daegu Metropolitan City to the west and Cheongdo-gun to the south.



The Yeongsanjeon Hall of Geojo-am Hermitage of Eunhaesa Temple or Eunhaesageojoamyeongsanjeon in Sinwon-ri Cheongtong-myeon has been designated National Treasure #14.
Geojo-am(hermitage), originally called Geojo-sa(temple) is said to have been built either in 738, the second year in the reign of King Hyoseong(737-42) of the Silla Kingdom(57 B.C.-A.D.935) or sometime during the reign of King Gyeongdeok(742-64)as an independent temple, by Monk Wonchamjosa, much earlier than the Eunhaesa Temple to which it now belongs.

However, it is not clear when it was changed from a temple to a hermitage and when it became affiliated with Eunhaesa.



The Yeongsanjeon Hall was built in 1375 and has been renovated many times as shown in a calligraphic record found in the building when it was dismantled for repairs.

         

The Yeongsan-jeon is a 5 partitioned matbaejip(a gable house) which takes the shape of a simple and neat Jusimpo style(the sides of its roof slanting at a 45º angle on each side), typical features of the Goguryo Dynasty's architecture. This building, with seven compartments on the front and three compartments at the sides and gable-roof shaped like the Chinese character of 人, stands on stone stairways.

 

The bracket and beam arrangements, the truss and its support under the roof ridge are of an ancient architectural style, though the decorative carvings indicate that much of the original structure was altered when it was repaired during the early Joseon era(1392-1910).




A statue of Buddha and 526 stone Arhans, or Buddha's disciples, are enshrined in the building.

The three-storey stone pagoda in front of the Yeongsanjeon is believed to have been from the closing days of the Silla Kingdom.

 The Eunhaesa Temple is said to have been built in the first year of King Heondeok's reign (809) of the Silla Dynasty (57B.C.-A.D.935), and was called Haeansa Temple at first.

The Eunhae-sa was one of the 5 head temples in the Gyeongbuk area and one of the 31 head temples of the Joseon Dynasty and is the head temple of the 10th parish of Korean Buddhism Jogyejong. As the representative temple in Gyeongbuk provincial area, it is famous for the enshrining  of the Amita Buddha.

Calligraphy on hanging boards on Daewoong-jeon, Bohwa-ru and Baekheung-am (temple), etc. are all works of Kim Jeong-hee, a noted calligrapher of the Joseon Dynasty so that it is worth while to carefully observe those calligraphies.
This temple owns such cultural assets as Gwaebultaeng (Treasure No. 1270) and Daewoong-jeon (main temple) the Amita 3 Buddhas, which well matches its fame as the millennium ancient temple. And these cultural assets are well classified and preserved with the construction of the Seongho Museum.

Eunhae-sa is also home to the Eunhae-sa Wunbu-Am Cheongdongbosal(bronze Buddha elect) Sitting Statue Treasure # 514, and the Eunhae-sa Baekheung-am Geukrak-jeon Treasure # 486.
 
The Eunhae-sa wunbu-Am Cheongdongbosal (sitting statue) is similar to the Geonchilbosal-zoasang at Jangryuk-sa, of the Joseon Dynasty and Geumdongbosal-zoasang at Daeseung-sa and Gapjang-san which is estimated to be the work of the late 15th century judging from the perspective of the size, formation, and decoration.

It shows well the typical bosal(a Buddhist saint ) statue of the late Goguryo Dynasty with fabulous decoration of Yeongrak-jangsik(ornament made with beads, etc) on bust, shoulder, abdomen, knee and the cozy size of stable posture and oval face with long upward slanting eyes On the other hand, the presentation of underwear tied with a band under the W-shaped breast, wimple slipped down over the two feet, etc shows that it is the bosal statue of the magnificent and stern style of the early Joseon Dynasty, which shows improvement over the statue of Jangruk-sa and the more ancient style than Daeseung-sa and Gapjang-sa.

The form of Goaebul-hwa(a big picture of Buddha to hang on the wall) became dramatically simple in 18th century compared with that of the early years of Goaebul-hwa.

And it became clear that the form of Goaebul-hwa changed to show the image of only 1 Buddha rather than 3 Buddhas in the early ages. Goaebul-hwa in Eunhae-sa was affected by this change but still renders superb dignity. It is the peculiar form to improve the expression techniques and present superiority of the work by simplifying the composition.

Its colors are almost perfectly conserved even if there are traces of folding up with backside thinly weaved silks and some peeling off of paintings Amitabha with yeowonin(right hand with 5 fingers stretching out) is described as standing Buddha statue on Goaebul-hwa.

The color of round halo around the head of Buddha is dark green. And it reminds us of a scroll of Oriental painting due to its such pictorial expression as blossoming lotus flower on lotus pedestal representing Yeongsanhoaesang(Buddha¡¯s sitting seat for lecture), etc.

These are features of background paintings which are not found in Goaebul-hwa researched up to now.

The Amita 3 Buddha statues are enshrined in the Eunhae-sa Baekheung-am Geukrak-jeon. And the Buddhist alter on which these statues are placed is made of wood and gets a lot of attention due to its excellent sculpturing technique and peculiar formation. The Sumi-dan on which the Amita 3 Buddha statues are placed, was made of wood during the middle of the Joseon Dynasty and its front is composed of 5 alters, each of which is again divided into 5 pieces. The upper most alter where eye-like images are etched is projected, and on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th alters are phoenix, peacock, crane, pheasant, etc. dragon, child, fish, frog, etc, elephant, lion, deer, etc are engraved. The Sumi-dan shows superb technique of wood sculpting of the Joseon Dynasty by distinctively bratticing a variety of animals



Tangible Cultural Properties # 55, Yonggye-seowond, is situated in Yongsan-ri Jayang-myeon



This Seowon, or Confucian shrine-academy, was established in 1782 by the order of King Jeongjo(1776-1800) as a memorial to Yi Maengjeon/Lee Maeng-Jeon.
The Yonggye-seonwon has a tower style paljak roofed house which was built in the Ikgonggye-construction style.

The roof of the building is half-gabled, half-hipped.The eaves of the roof are supported by wing-like brackets.

Yi was one of the six men known as Saengyuksin or "six loyal subjects" who gave up their government positions to protect King Danjong. Having pledged his loyalty to Danjong, Yi refused to serve two masters. As King Sejo dethroned King Danjong, he kept his promise not to serve two kings by resigning from his official position and retiring to his hometown. He lived the rest of his life as a recluse in his hometown. He passed away at the age of 89 after he got out of touch with outsiders living as a fake blind and deaf person for 27 years and thinking only of King Danjong

He was posthumously given the title Minister of PersoneI. In 1848, by order of a royal decree seeking the eventual abolishment of such institutes, the Seowon was moved back here in 1974 because of the construction of the Yeongcheon Dam.


The 4 Incho gisa mobon jeong Mong-Ju Yeongjeong, in Yanghang-ri Imgo-myeon has been designated Treasure #1110.

The Seowon houses 3 pieces of Jeong Mong-ju's portrait which seem to look alike. But periods of drawing and detailed presentation of the portraits and drawers are different.

These portraits are imitations copied from an original portrait, all of which show Jeong Mong-Ju with Ohsamo(a hat worn by officials in former days), Cheongpodanryeong(dress worn by officials in former days) and Gakdae(a sash worn by officials in former days) without description of background. Sungjeonggisa-mobon(copy) are presumed to be the work of Kim Yuk.
It is understood to be copied in 1629 since the letters of Sungjeonggisa-mobon are written at the bottom right corner of the portrait. And it is believed to be the oldest portrait of Jeong Mong-Ju which are remaining now.

It pictures the whole body of Jeong Mong-Ju on a chair with Ohsamo and light-blue Danryeongpo (dress worn by officials in former days). And it expresses an image of the face with 80% of it left and the rest right and the expression of dress is done not by Chinese black ink lines but by blue colored lines.

In general, it is damaged severely but it is the oldest work of Jeong Mong-Ju which still remains and holds the status which can be found only in the old works.


Joyanggak in Changgu-dong, Tangible Cultural Properties # 144, was built by a government official Lee Yong in the 17th year of Gongmin-wang of Goguryo (1368). It was also called 'Myeongwonru'. which was extracted from the poem by Han Toi Ji of the Chinese Tang Dynasty which means "To see scenery of distant open place, two eyes gets more sharpened."

This anecdote is written on document of Myongwonru recorded by Saga(pen name) Seo Geo-Jeong, a well known writer of the Joseon Dynasty. There were Cheongryang-dang(house) to the left and Ssangcheong-dang(house) to the right with Joyanggak at the center, both of which were burnt down during the Imjin-woaeran(Japanese invasion of Korean in 1592)

The current building is the one which was rebuilt in the 16th year of King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty and renamed as Joyanggak. The current Joyanggak is composed of 5 compartments in front and 3 compartments at the sides. And about 80 hanging boards engraved with poems of noted saga and people of refined tastes who passed by this town.



It is unknown when this Sinnyeong-Hyanggyo, Tangible Cultural Property No. 168, in Hwaseong-ri Sinnyeong-myeon was built but it was known to have been repaired in 1551 when Hwang Joon-Ryang was the governor then.

At that time it was situated in Myeongcheon. It was burnt down during the Imjin-woaeran(Japanese invasion of Korean in 1592) and was rebuilt at the back of where it is now, and only moved to where it is now in 1686.

Myeongryun-dang was originally the lecture hall where teachings of Confucius were taught to students of Confucianism. It was relatively big and the construction structure was sound enough to add a roof.

Myeongryun-dang was rebuilt in 1852, at the same time, other buildings were being built.


The Imgo Seowon is a memorial hall which was built in memory of Poeun Jeong Mong-ju, a loyal subject at the end of Goguryo Dynasty who kept his honor with death in order to erect upright the fate of the country faced with crisis.

It was built by local residents of Yeongcheon, home of Jeong Mong-ju in the 8th year of Myeongjong (Joseon, 1553). And it became what it is after burning down and reconstruction. The Imgo-seowon houses Jeong Mong-ju's portrait (National treasure No. 1110), his books (National treasure No. 1109) and a 500 year old Gingko tree standing in front of the seowon.

And now for our last destination for the day, the Manbul-sa(temple), constructed in 1995, the center stage of contemporary Korean Buddhism.
And its size is immense enough to include 3-4 hills around it.

The Manbulbo-jeon which enshrines 3 Amita Buddhas and a 17,000 jade Buddha, is the main temple of Manbulsan.

The official name of the temple, Manbulsa, means The Temple of 10,000 Buddhas.

If you happen to be travelling along the Gyeongbu Expressway #1, as you approach Yeongcheon, you will be able to see on top of the mountain a golden statue of Buddha.

When you reach the gates of this temple you will be greeted by 3 three large golden pyramid-like structures, some seven to eight meters high. The next thing that strikes the eyes is that the dominating color of this temple is yellow, quite unlike the usual greys and dark greens of the traditional temples in Korea. What are those pyramid-like structures? On closer look you will discover that they are composed of thousands of small Buddha statues about 15 cm high, with Korean names engraved at the bottom of each statue and a tiny lamp above it. It seems that any person after paying some money to the monastery (approximately 5,000 won a month) receives this package of a small Buddha statue including the lantern, which is then installed in the pyramid. On the lower part of the statue the name of the owner or some other person can be written. And every day when it gets dark all the tiny lanterns are switched on, transforming the golden pyramids of the daytime into pyramids of light in the dark.

It is believed that the small Buddha statues and lanterns bring happiness and good fortune to the persons whose names are engraved at the bottom. Many people buy these statues in the pyramids of Manbulsa for the people they love, this is a unique way of giving presents to loved ones.

These same lanterns and Buddha statues with names can also be found on the walls of the main praying hall of the temple. The Manbulsa has been nicknamed “the temple of a million lanterns”, which is what it really looks like in the darkness.
There are also other Buddha statues about two meters high in the temple
 grounds where the principle is about the same. A person can sponsor a statue and have their name or that of another person engraved on the bottom. It is also believed to bring good fortune to the donors as well as the recipients. I think this temple can hold the record for having the most number of Buddha statues in the world.

You can also see rows of statues of so-called baby Buddhas, child-like looking Buddhas with hats on their heads. These statues with names on them are put there by grieving parents in memory of their children who died at birth.

In the middle of the main yard of the monastery there is a huge bell on the surface of which are engraved hundreds of small Buddhas. While only the monks of Manbulsa are allowed to strike this bell, there are also four smaller bells in the vicinity for visitors. Make a wish and strike one of those bells three times and it will come true.

Further on there are two rows of big golden cylinders, prayer wheels supposedly to improve one’s fortune. Walk along and turn one cylinder after another to the left reciting at the same time the mantra, “om mani padme hum,”  which is  supposed to have an enlightening effect.

There is a large reclining statue of Buddha made of brass, 4 meters high and 13 meters long which the monastery claims is the biggest Buddha statue in Korea.

It is also possible to reach the statue of the Buddha, the one seen from the Gyeonbu Expressway. You’re in for another surprise, that statue of the huge Buddha stands on a podium, surrounded by dozens of smaller Buddhas of human height. From here one can get a bird’s eye view of the surroundings. Guess what, it looks like the larger part of its grounds is designated for graves. But with the number of Buddhas around it shouldn’t be scary right?

So if you are up to visit an unusual and unique Korean temple where you can probably improve your fortune and perhaps buy a lantern which will shine for you every day, Manbulsa is the temple to visit. Of course it will be better to go when it’s getting dark when you can enjoy the wonderful view of thousands of tiny lanterns shining in the dark, but not too late though as the temple doors might be closed.


And this brings me to the end of our tour today. Hope you’ll be back again soon .