Jogyesa Temple

Before you is Jogyesa, headquarters of the Jogye Order, the largest in Korean Buddhism. It's a temple right in the city, steps from offices and banks, and yet it always smells of incense and echoes with chanting.

1Buddhism in the capital

Under the Joseon dynasty, Confucianism was the official ideology and Buddhism was pushed aside: for centuries monks were forbidden to enter the capital. That's why this temple is modern. It was founded in 1910 as Gakhwangsa, a centre for Korean Buddhists in Seoul. During the Japanese occupation, which tried to control religious orders, it became a symbol of independent Korean Buddhism. The great main hall, the Daeungjeon, went up in 1938, and the temple took its current name in 1954.

2Two venerable trees

In the courtyard stand two trees around five hundred years old: a white pine, with pale mottled bark and protected as a natural monument, and a large pagoda tree. The white pine is a species of Chinese origin that is very rare in Korea.

In the weeks before Buddha's Birthday the courtyard fills with thousands of lotus lanterns, and the city holds the Yeondeunghoe lantern parade, on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2020.

You can step into the courtyard and peer into the main hall, quietly and without photographing people at prayer.

3What to look for

• The canopy of lanterns above the courtyard.
• The white pine, with its almost silvery trunk.
• The three golden Buddhas of the Daeungjeon, visible from the doorway.