Jogyesa Temple (???) – One Of The Must Things To Do In Korea
If you ask any Korean, to recommend you a temple in Seoul, 90% of them will say – ??? i.e Jogyesa Temple. Jogyesa Temple is one of the must things to do in Korea. It is one of the most important temples in Korea and is the center of Korean Buddhism. Located in the center of Seoul in Jongno district, it is also closer to one of the most visited attractions i.e Insadong. The temple was first built in 1395 and after a series of remodeling, the modern temple was established in 1910.
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Entering Jogyesa Temple
The moment you enter the Jogyesa Temple, you will be amazed to see the beautiful flowers everywhere. The whole temple is decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. But above all, flowers add colors to its beauty. Especially if you are visiting the temple in Spring, you will be so delighted to see the colorful, actually flower-full atmosphere. I can bet, you will be so delighted that you would love to spend as much time in the time as possible.
Big Halls Of Jogyesa Temple
The main hall of the Jogyesa Temple i.e Daeungjeon (Main Dharma Hall) is the biggest temple building in Seoul and offers a spectacular view for all the visitors. It has 3 big statues of the Buddha and as far as I remember, these are also the biggest indoor statues in Korea.
The hall is filled with lantern and lights and you can see people offering their religious rituals at all time starting the dawn.
In front of the Daeungjeon (Main Dharma Hall), you can see a unique 500+ year old Baeksong lacebark pine tree and a 450+ year old Chinese scholar tree.
One of the locust trees is around 30meter high and provides shadow to a big area of the temple. People sit down under the shadow of the tree and pray. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Buddhist or no, you will find people from all the religions coming here and relaxing their souls from daily busy life.
If you are visiting Jogyesa Temple, you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Gyeongbokgung palace is also very close to Jogyesa. So don’t forget to visit the most important palace of Korea too.
If you are in Seoul, you definitely can’t skip the Lotte Tower – The tallest building in Korea.
How to go To JOGYESA TEMPLE
Option 1
Get off at Subway Line 3 at Anguk Station (Exit 6). Keep walking for 150 meters and turn left at Ujeongguk-ro, just past Insadong-gil.
Keep walking for almost 200 meters more and then you will reach the temple on the right.
Option 2
Get off at Subway Line 1 to Jonggak Station (Exit 2).
Keep walking for 360 meters and soon you will reach the temple on the left.
Hours of Operation:
The temple is usually open 24 hours.
Daeungjeon (Main Dharma Hall) and Geuknakjeon (Paradise Hall) are open 4:00am-9:00pm.
All of the flowers and historical features sound really interesting… but none of your photos seem to be loading for me on a Chrome browser or on mobile? I hope the issue is just with me and others can see them. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience!
Oh no that was with other peps too 🙁 But fortunately, its fixed now. Thanks for dropping by and leaving the comment.:)
I visited this temple back in 2016, but I want to go back again now that I am reminded of it from you! The images didn’t load for me though sadly.. I’m not sure if it’s just me. I will come back again soon and see if they work, I would really like to see them!
Sadly, your pictures didn’t load for me for some reason. Since I’ve never been to Jogyesa, my curiosity is now peaked and I hope to witness it in person or revisit your blog when the images work 🙁
Hey Alla, I didn’t know what went wrong but the pictures are working fine now.. 🙂 I am sure you’ll love the temple and would be paying a visit there very soon.
Yeah, I’ve heard about the temple there, and have seen it from the outside of course. A note the images aren’t appearing for me, perhaps the file size is too large and it automatically cuts off? Then maybe they need to be compressed and decreased in size.
Anyway I wanted to give you a heads up about that.
Thanks a lot Don. Yeah I was using original image size, may be that was the issue. Thanks a lot for the comments 🙂
People definitely do rec Jogyesa a lot in Seoul. While it is beautiful and maybe the easiest one to get to, I like Bongwonsa over by Yonsei University the best myself haha. Jogyesa is gorgeous with all of the lanterns strung up high over the entire complex for Buddha’s birthday each year though.
waoo I have never been to Bongwonsa… will definitely go there someday 🙂 that can be actually a new blogpost.. Jogyesa vs Bonwonsa 🙂
Thanks for the travel inspiration next time I’m in Seoul! I’ll have to make sure to visit the time I’m there, especially because it’s so central! Your pictures are great and really show the temple well. With so many temples to see it’s always good to have these places on your list! THanks for sharing!
Nice images, especially the ones which include the Ginko tree. Jogyesa was probably the first temple I visited here in Seoul. It’s always been pretty busy and definitely draws many tourists because of the location.
Jogyesa is the easiest temple to go to so that’s where I recommend friends and visitors to go to when they drop by here in Seoul. Especially fantastic on the days leading to the Lantern Paerade and Buddha’s birthday. You’re brave to take photos inside the temple:-).
I’ve been there many times. I think the best time to go there is during autumn and during the lantern festival. Have you tried the activities inside?