The Top-20 Buddhist Temples of South Korea
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These are the twenty Buddhist monasteries of the Republic of Korea I have judged to be the
largest and most important in the entire nation. Criteria used include contemporary size, long
history of importance within the religion, national reputation, and architectural and cultural
treasures -- the final judgment based on my two decades of visiting them. 20 might seem like
a strange odd number, but that's how the list came out -- to list only the top 10 would leave out
some very important temples, and to make it 30 would include some that really don't rank in
the same category as these 20, defficient in one or more of the criteria. The "Gu-san" or "Nine
Holy Mountans" is a common concept in Korea, and so perhaps 20 is appropriate, as "2 x 9 =
18" from the dominant Jogye Order (85+% of Korean Buddhism) and one each from the two
next-largest orders, the Taego and Cheontae. eastern side of the peninsula and nine from the
western side.
These monasteries are all among the top-50-or-so most interesting places to visit and most
popular pilgrimage-destinations in contemporary South Korea. Most of them have many
hermitages on the slopes above them, after all together serve the practices of hundreds of
monks. They all contain many profound religious-cultural treasures on their grounds and in
their shrines or museums. They are listed here North-to-South, not any order of relative
importance; and they are named by the mountain that hosts them, in the traditional style. It is
equally true that "such a great temple was established and maintained for so long at that
mountain because the mountain is so holy" and that "the presence of such a great temple
increases the reputation for sacredness of the mountain that hosts it". Click on the name to
see my photos of and commentary on that temple, its host mountain and its San-shin shrines.