Republic of Korea
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, represents the earliest era of Korean Seon Buddhism and its distinctive spiritual practice.
The seven remote monasteries were established in the 7th to 9th centuries. They prospered during the Goryeo Dynasty which established Buddhism as a state religion. The monasteries are still in use as centers of meditation and Buddhist study and have preserved many of their historic structures, objects and documents.
Community Perspective: Five out of the seven included monasteries (all situated in the southern provinces) have been covered by our reviewers: Tongdosa (GabLabCebu), Buseoksa (Kyle), Beopjusa (Kyle, Frederik), Magoksa (Kyle), and Seonamsa (Clyde, Frederik).
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea (ID: 1562)
- Country
- Republic of Korea
- Status
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Inscribed 2018
Site history
History of Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
- 2018: Advisory Body overruled
- ICOMOS advised to only inscribe 4 of the monasteries
- 2018: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- koreansansa.net — Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea
Community Information
- Community Category
- Religious structure: Buddhist
- Secular structure: Military and Fortifications
Travel Information
Yeosu Hotspot
Gyeongju hotspot
Recent Connections
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Bixi
Multiple bixi are located within the St… -
Legends and Folk Myths
Buseoksa (Floating Rock Temple) - "The … -
Stelae
"Daeheungsa Temple retains traces of t…
Connections of Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
- History
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Three Kingdoms of Korea
Tongdosa Temple was founded in 646 (Silla) -
Silk Roads
Eastern Route; "According to tradition, the Precepts Platform at Tongdosa temple contains a relic of the historical Buddha brought to Silla by Jajang as a gift from Tang China." - Advisory Body Evaluation -
Goryeo
"Despite their origins in the Silla period, much of the architecture of the nominated components represents developments in the later Goryeo and Joseon periods." – ICOMOS -
Contains significant structures from the 20th Century
Beopjusa Temple "A large 20th century statue of Maitreya stands within the temple" - ICOMOS
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- Architecture
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Wooden architecture
"The 13th century Hall of Infinite Life is one of the oldest buildings in Korea and an important example of East Asian wooden architecture. Beopjusa contains a large multi-story wooden pavilion which is the largest in Korea." - ICOMOS -
Stand-alone Rock Reliefs
Rock-carved Seated Buddha, Treasure No. 216 (Beopjusa Temple) - Nomination File
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- World Heritage Process
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Inscribed on a single criterion only
Crit iii
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- Religion and Belief
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Shamanism
"For each of the nominated components, the State Party describes a rich array of annual festivals, rites and continuing spiritual practices at the temples, including some that incorporate local belief systems (such as shrines dedicated to the Mountain Spirit, longevity totems associated with Taoism and Shamanism.." (AB ev) -
Pagoda
"Beopjusa contains a large multi-story wooden pavilion which is the largest in Korea. Although more common in other parts of East Asia, there are few extant examples of this kind of architecture in Korea." - ICOMOS; "Palsangjeon Pagoda of Beopjusa Temple is the tallest among the pagodas in Korea and only wooden pagoda remaining today, making it an invaluable part of Korean cultural and historical heritage." - Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea -
Religious Relics
"Tongdosa Temple does not enshrine an image of the Buddha, because there are relics of the Buddha enshrined in the Diamond Precept Platform." - ICOMOS -
Legends and Folk Myths
Buseoksa (Floating Rock Temple) - "The assimilative character of the temple is handed down in the Shrine of Seonmyo, dedicated to the legendary woman from the founding myth." - (Wiki Buseoksa (see legend)See en.wikipedia.org
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Phoenix
Bongjeongsa (Phoenix Dwelling Temple) -
Taoism
"For each of the nominated components, the State Party describes a rich array of annual festivals, rites and continuing spiritual practices at the temples, including some that incorporate local belief systems (such as shrines dedicated to the Mountain Spirit, longevity totems associated with Taoism and Shamanism.." (AB ev) -
Stupa
Tongdosa: houses the Buddha relics, "Founded by the great monk Jajang in 646, it was originally built to house his collection of Sakyamuni relics that he had acquired on his travels. He put the most important relics in a special budo, or reliquary stupa, on a platform he named Geumgang Gyedan, which can be seen today. "
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- Human Activity
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Tea
Seonamsa Temple "Tea fields are located at the rear of the temple complex." - Advisory Body Evaluation Daeheungsa Temple also has been renowned for Korean tea culture with Master Choui who revived Korean dado (“the way of tea”) in the 19th century. - Supplementary Information File
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- Constructions
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Bixi
Multiple bixi are located within the Stupa garden at Daeheungsa Temple (Daeheungsa Korean Heritage Service (KHS)) -
Notable Bridges
Seungseongyo Bridge of Seonamsa Temple, Suncheon (Designated as a Treasure in 1963) "Over the stream the Bridge of Ascending Immortals (Seungseongyo) was built in 1713, demonstrating the stone construction technology of the time, and nearby are a number of rocks carved with the names of temple supporters and famous people who visited the temple. These carvings attest to the history of the temple and the beauty of the landscape." - Nomination File -
Stelae
"Daeheungsa Temple retains traces of the activities of many high priests who led Korean Buddhist in the 17th and 18th centuries. These monks were known as the 12 doctrinal masters and 12 instructors who were the most learned in meditative and doctrinal Buddhism. To honor their memory, Daeheungsa Temple maintains a stupa garden with 47 stupas and steles, including those of Great Master Seosan, which attest to the historicity of the temple." - Nomination File
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- WHS on Other Lists
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World Biosphere Reserves
Seonamsa Temple, which is one of the components of the Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea WHS is located within the Suncheon Biosphere ReserveSee en.unesco.org
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- Timeline
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Built in the 7th century
Seven temples established in the 7th to 9th centuries have been selected (AB ev)
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- WHS Hotspots
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Yeosu Hotspot
< than 50km to Seonamsa (direct KTX high-speed train to Suncheon 15 minutes) -
Gyeongju hotspot
< than 50km from Tongdosa
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- Visiting conditions
- WHS Names
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Translated Toponyms
"Sansa" is a Korean term for any Korean Buddhist temple located on a mountain. Full name in English confirms this "Buddhist Mountain Monasteries".
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
- Alexander Lehmann
- Alexander Parsons
- Alex Goh
- Atila Ege
- Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
- Bigboss99
- Bossc
- Can SARICA
- chenboada
- Cheryl
- Christoph
- Christravelblog
- Chunsian01
- Clyde
- cutecid
- cwthong
- Dimitar Krastev
- DouglasR
- Dr. Caligari
- Elaine McArdle
- Els Slots
- Errol Neo
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Everett
- Fan Yibo
- Fleur
- Frankwsolak
- Frederik Dawson
- GabLabCebu
- Garrett
- Hadrianus
- Harald T.
- Harry Mitsidis
- henryjiao18
- inomusay
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Javier
- Joel on the Road
- Jonas Kremer
- Jon Eshuijs
- Joyce van Soest
- Julio Moreno
- Junwang111
- Kasper
- Kim, Soo-youn
- Kristin
- Kyle Magnuson
- Loic Pedras
- Luboang
- Lukasz Palczewski
- Luke LOU
- Maciej Gil
- MaYumin
- Michael Ayers
- Michael Turtle
- Miguel Marquez
- Mihai Dascalu
- Mikan22
- nan
- Nihal Ege
- Pascal Cauliez
- Patrik
- Paul Schofield
- Petteri
- Philipp Peterer
- reinhardt
- Reza
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Shandos Cleaver
- SHIHE HUANG
- Simonh
- Slavi
- Solivagant
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Stijn
- Thomas Harold Watson
- Timothy C Easton
- tony0001
- Vincent Cheung
- Xiquinho Silva
- YAO WEI
- Zoë Sheng
- Zos M
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
To me, the Sansa embody the ideal and typical Korean temple. They may not have the historic significance of Bulguksa or the unique library of Haeinsa, but they are much better preserved, containing some of the oldest standing wooden architecture in the peninsula, and some of the most beautiful too. For that, I have to say they are a much-needed WHS, and I had a dilemma on which of the seven to fit into my trip to Korea in June 2023. Upon examining the evaluation file, I found that only four were actually advised for inscription - Tongdosa, Buseoksa, Beopjusa,
Daeheungsa. Buseoksa and Beopjusa had been covered well by Kyle, and Daeheungsa I found to be too remote to fit into the trip; sadly, I even had to cut Unjusa last minute due to time constraints, so I never could've made it farther southwest. That left Tongdosa, and upon further research, I became more and more surprised that it hasn't truly been reviewed here yet. Tongdosa is one of the three "Jewel Temples" of Korea, representing Gautama Buddha, containing relics of the Buddha, and serving as the head temple of the Jogye Order. Of the three, it's definitely the best preserved, easily trumping Haeinsa and Songgwangsa in this metric, and it's even the largest, not just of the Jewel Temples, but out of all existing temples in Korea! And if that wasn't all enough reason to make it worth the journey, it's within easy reach of Busan, the second largest …
Frederik Dawson
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries (Inscribed)

I was a bit skeptical for this site before I visited since I already have been to Haeinsa and Bulguksa temples, so I was curious on the outstanding universal value on “Sansa”, which derived from Chinese word “Shan-si” or the mountain temple. From all inscribed components, I only visited two temples, Beopjusa and Seonamsa. These two temples were located in protected forests, the pathways from car parking areas were scenic with beautiful steams, light forests, pavilions, very nice surrounding but these kind of environment and setting are similar to Haeinsa, so while I was really enjoyed, I could not find uniqueness of the mountain temples that similar to many mountain or forest Buddhist temples in other part of Asia or other religious monasteries around the world.
One thing that I noted from Haeinsa was that apart from the famous wooden blocks’ storages, the rest of building complex of Haeinsa was nothing special, most were newly rebuilt, so I never gave credit to Haeinsa for its temple but only for the storages. My idea on authenticity of Bulguksa was even negative since all the temple structure, except the two stone pagodas, were built on archaeologists’ imagination. However, when I saw Beopjusa and Seonamsa, the aged wooden structures in the complex were so stunning, especially the pagoda of Beopjusa, something made you immediately impressed for its old age which really contrast to other many temples in South Korea. I walked around the complex tried to understand …
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I visited this WHS in April 2017. I visited the Seonamsa Mountain Temple which is located in the Joyesan Provincial Park a few kilometres away from Suncheon.
This mountain temple has undergone several restorations from 1597 through to 1823 but is overall in quite a good state. It has a number of peculiar features such as a lavatory cottage a spiritual pond with an artificial island and a bridge with several Korean script inscriptions and a dragonhead carved in the middle (photo).
It is also possible to do a temple stay here and I'd recommend it even though I didn't stay myself. When I visited, the monks were practicing their drum and cymbal skills on a blackboard with wooden spoons and an empty gas cylinder! The sounds they created in the middle of the national park though were exactly similar to normal drums and cymbals!
The highlight of my visit were the lovely paintings or palsangdo enshrined in the Seonamsa Palsangjeon in which the entire life of Sakyamuni from former life to Nirvana is described in 8 scenes. The temple houses 24 of the most important national and state cultural properties and the Seonamsa Museum displays over 200 cultural properties.
Just before the temple entrance there's a lovely tea house with a very peaceful setting (just before the red wooden 'totems').
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Many visitors to Korea visit Bulguksa or Haeinsa. Both are Buddhist treasures and provide a great introduction to Korean temples. However, too often visitors only visit Bongeunsa temple in Seoul. Here is a great list for any traveler interested in Korean mountain temples.
Firstly, there are no "great" Buddhist temples in or around Seoul. This is because during the Joseon dynasty Confucianism was central to the state. Buddhism had not been the state religion since the time of Goryeo. This nomination is sensible in focusing on mountain temples in the more rural areas of Korea. These temples are well-preserved, highly authentic, and most (if not all) have more than one national treasure. Each one of these 7 temples has features or artifacts that make them unique.
I visited 3 mountain temples included in this nomination.
1) Beopjusa (Boeun), 2011
2) Buseoksa (Yeongju), 2016
3) Magoksa (Gongju), 2016
Beopjusa is located in the heart of South Korea. Most people visit the temple because it is the starting point for the trek to the summit of Songnisan National Park. The temple has several national treasures. The two most noteworthy is the only preserved 5-story wooden pagoda in Korea and the beautiful Goryeo era rock etching. I found both spectacular. Korea used to be filled with wooden pagodas from 3-9 stories. An incredible number of them were destroyed during the Samurai invasion in the 1590's. Some that survived into the modern age were lost during the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. …
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