Anguk Temple in DPRK :: Weekly Blitz

The Anguk Temple situated at Ponghak-dong, Phyongsong City, South Phyongan Province is one of the national cultural legacies of Korea. The monument to the Anguk Temple says that the temple was set up in the period of Koguryo (277 B.C.–A.D. 668). According to a historical record, the temple was rebuilt in 1419 and later repairs were made on it on several occasions. In the temple there still remain the Thaephyong Pavilion in front, a temple dormitory for Buddhist monks in the west and the Juphil Pavilion in the east, inclusive of the Taeungbo Hall. Also to be seen there now is a nine-storey pagoda built in the period of Koryo (918–1392), which stands in front of the Thaephyong Pavilion.

The Taeungbo Hall is the main building of the Anguk Temple. Erected on a firm foundation that was laid on an elevated ground, this building is five kan in the façade and four kan in the side. And covered with a gable roof, it has the double eaves. Doors are gorgeously decorated with openwork flower patterns.

Visible inside the building are a large Buddhist altar and three Buddhist images. Hung up on the wall behind them are thaenghwa (Buddhistic pictures). The building is painted in golden colour so as to make it more graceful.

The Thaephyong Pavilion located in front of the Taeungbo Hall has the double eaves and a gable roof. It is five kan in the façade and two kan in the side. A hanging board with some calligraphy on it given by King Sunjo is hung up on a wall of the pavilion.

Also to be found in the temple are a gingko tree that has grown tall in its front yard as well as a nine-storey pagoda that seems to have been built later than in the middle period of Koryo.

Made of stone, this pagoda is a true square and 6.23 m high. This pagoda testifies to the fact that the Anguk Temple was managed even in the period of Koryo and serves as a valuable legacy in the study of stone pagoda-construction techniques and sculptural art in those days.

The gingko tree planted towards the year 1400 in this temple is 27 m in height, 10 m in the girth of its lower part and 18 m or so in the diameter of its crown. It bears about 100 kg of fruit every year. At present the heritages of national culture are kept and taken care of in their original state thanks to the relevant state policy.

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