Yeongju Pogyodang

About this place

Yeongju Pogyodang, also called Hongbeopsa (弘法寺), is a temple belonging to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It operates as the Yeongju-area propagation hall of Gouunsa (孤雲寺), the main temple of the 16th diocese of the Jogye Order. Yeongju Pogyodang is located on the site where the Hyangseodang of the Joseon period once stood. It is said that the Hyangseodang was first established in 1371 (20th year of King Gongmin) by Ha Ryun, who took office as the magistrate of Yeongcheon-gun, and it operated as an institution for the moral edification of the local community in the Yeongju area. Around 1900, Yeongju Pogyodang was built as a propagation hall directly under Gimyongsa in Mungyeong, then the main head temple, and it is said to have been built by dismantling the Hyangseodang building. Originally located in Hamang-dong, it was moved after 1940 to its present location in Yeongju-dong. In 1911 the Daeungjeon (main hall) was rebuilt, and in the 1970s it was reconstructed; thereafter a monks' quarters was built, the three-buddha statues of the Daeungjeon were regilded, and the pillar couplets and the Daeungjeon signboard were also renewed. In 2008 a statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was enshrined on the right side inside the Daeungjeon hall, and in 2009 the Daeungjeon was painted with dancheong (decorative coloring) and the stone foundation was newly refurbished.