It’d been a while since we visited a Buddhist temple (although I did post about Waujeongsa not too long ago). If you’ve been following along, you’ll know I have a thing for Buddhist temples. Jeongtosa is a hidden gem right here in Pyeongtaek where we live. I’m not sure how we made it five months of living in South Korea without discovering this beaut, but I’m so glad we were able to make the time to check it out.
Jeongto Temple in Pyeongtaek
It doesn’t take any time at all to see what attracted us to Jeongtosa to begin with: the obvious crowning jewel of the grounds is the massive golden Buddha that sits on top of one of the buildings. While not nearly as massive as the stone Buddha at Gakwonsa, it’s still incredible all on its own. Match that with the beautiful grounds (can you imagine this in the spring!?) and incredible stone pagoda, and it’s a perfect location for a lowkey adventure.
And I think that is one thing I love about visiting Buddhist temples around here. When we visit, it FEELS like we are in another country, so there’s that novelty to it. BUT, they have proven to be really easy to visit as well. Most of the temples we have visited have areas to park on the grounds, they are free (although donations are ALWAYS welcome), and they’ve proven to be pretty easy to find, once you have the name of them in Hangul (thanks, Google Translate!). So basically, they are all the feeling and novelty of an adventure without all the hassle and stress.
Sa-Cheonwang (사천왕): Four Heavenly Kings
I looked for a while to find some kind of history of Jeongtosa, but I came up empty. I couldn’t even find what year it was built, although it did SEEM to be one of the newer temples we have visited. The history buff in me is always disappointed when I can’t find information about the temples we visit, but where this temple is lacking in information, it makes up for in charm. And, even though there isn’t any history (that I could find) on this place, I wanted to share some of the key features of Korean Buddhist temples that I find interesting: starting with the “Sa-Cheonwang” or the “Four Heavenly Kings.” These are four Buddhist gods who are believed to each watch over a different section of the world. They are not unique only to Korean Buddhism, and they go by many different names that loosely translate to the Four Heavenly Kings.
Specifically in Korean Buddhism, their individual names are: Damun, Jeungjang, Jiguk, and Gwangmok, protectors of the North, South, East, and West respectively. Damun is the chief of the Four Heavenly Kings. He rules the rain and is known as the “one who hears all.” Jeungjang rules the wind and helps plants grow. Jiguk is the god of music. He protects all living things and uses his music to convert others to Buddhism. Gwangmok is considered the “one who sees all” and works to convert unbelievers to Buddhism.
Most Korean Buddhist temples that we have visited have had SOME kind of depiction of the Four Heavenly Kings. Sometimes they are painted as large murals on the inside of some of the smaller halls. Other times they are represented by fantastic statues. Whatever form they take, they are an important part of Korean Buddhism.
Stone Pagodas
In China the pagodas were typically made from brick, and in Japan they were made from wood. But Korea had large amounts of granite, which is probably one reason they took to making their pagodas out of stone. And pagodas are a very important part of Korean Buddhist temples as they symbolize the final resting place for Buddha. Anciently it was believed that the pagodas were home to the remains of the Buddha’s cremated body, although now they stand only as symbols for Buddha and his reaching nirvana.
Sansin (산신)
Another classic feature of Korean Buddhist temples is the small palace that is typically built for the Korean Mountain god (or Sansin). During the construction of some temples like Simboksa, shrines to Sansin were added to appease those Koreans who did not practice Buddhism. At some point, though, they seem to have become just another classic element of these incredible places. During our visit to Jeongtosa, we didn’t see the shrine for Sansin. We went later in the afternoon and the doors to all of the buildings were closed. In order to show respect, we typically don’t enter any buildings that don’t have their doors opened. I suspect the smallest of the buildings (which was on the top of the hill) is where the Sansin shrine is.
It was so fun to check another Buddhist temple off of our bucket-list – especially since this one was only 20 minutes from our house. I love learning about the history and seeing our kids get excited about the interesting statues. If you find yourself in Pyeongtaek, Jeongtosa is definitely worth checking out!
’til next time…
Ash
How to visit Jeongtosa in Pyeongtaek:
Directions: We pasted 경기 평택시 안중읍 서동대로 1785 into Naver and it took us right to the temple.
Cost: Like most Buddhist temples, there is no entrance fee for Jeongtosa. Most Buddhist temples have boxes where you can put cash donations. We didn’t see one during our time at Jeongtosa, but I’m sure there is one somewhere.
Parking: Parking is free and there are spots on-site. There isn’t an insane amount of parking available, but because this is one of the lesser known temples in the area, I don’t imagine the parking fills up.
Amenities: There are bathrooms right beside the parking area (and they are modern toilets – not the hole-in-the-ground squatters that you sometimes see here).
