UNESCO World Heritage Series Part 11: Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon | Asia Society Skip to main content

Unsupported Browser Detected.
It seems the web browser you're using doesn't support some of the features of this site. For the best experience, we recommend using a modern browser that supports the features of this website. We recommend Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

  • About
    • About Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Financial Statements
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support
    • Individual Membership
    • Corporate Membership
    • Corporate Supporters
    • Honorary Ambassador Members
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Event Recaps
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Ambassador Series
    • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
    • East Asia Coverage
    • Event Recaps
    • Get to Know Us
    • Innovative Minds
    • Meet the Author
    • Monthly Lecture Series
    • North Korea Coverage
    • ROK'n Seoul
    • Student Programs
  • News
    • News
    • 2008
    • 2009
    • 2010
    • 2011
    • 2012
    • 2013
    • 2014
    • 2015
    • 2016
    • 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
    • 2023
  • Video
    • Video Gallery
    • The Glitch
  • 아시아소사이어티
    • 코리아센터 사람들
    • 오시는 길
  • 사업
    • 2014 프로그램
    • 2015 프로그램
    • 2016 프로그램
    • 2017 프로그램
    • 2018 프로그램
    • 2019 프로그램
    • 2020 프로그램
    • 2021 프로그램
    • 2022 프로그램
    • 2023 프로그램
    • 프로그램 일정
  • 후원 안내
    • 법인 회원
    • 개인 회원
Korea
Search
Korea
  • About
    • About Asia Society
    • Our People
    • Financial Statements
    • Career Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support
    • Individual Membership
    • Corporate Membership
    • Corporate Supporters
    • Honorary Ambassador Members
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Event Recaps
  • Blog
    • All Posts
    • Ambassador Series
    • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
    • East Asia Coverage
    • Event Recaps
    • Get to Know Us
    • Innovative Minds
    • Meet the Author
    • Monthly Lecture Series
    • North Korea Coverage
    • ROK'n Seoul
    • Student Programs
  • News
    • News
    • 2008
    • 2009
    • 2010
    • 2011
    • 2012
    • 2013
    • 2014
    • 2015
    • 2016
    • 2017
    • 2018
    • 2019
    • 2020
    • 2021
    • 2022
    • 2023
  • Video
    • Video Gallery
    • The Glitch
  • 아시아소사이어티
    • 코리아센터 사람들
    • 오시는 길
  • 사업
    • 2014 프로그램
    • 2015 프로그램
    • 2016 프로그램
    • 2017 프로그램
    • 2018 프로그램
    • 2019 프로그램
    • 2020 프로그램
    • 2021 프로그램
    • 2022 프로그램
    • 2023 프로그램
    • 프로그램 일정
  • 후원 안내
    • 법인 회원
    • 개인 회원

  • All Posts
  • Ambassador Series
  • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
  • East Asia Coverage
  • Event Recaps
  • Get to Know Us
  • Innovative Minds
  • Meet the Author
  • Monthly Lecture Series
  • North Korea Coverage
  • ROK'n Seoul
  • Student Programs

UNESCO World Heritage Series Part 11: Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon

Tripitaka Koreana

Tripitaka Koreana

Tripitaka Koreana

Tripitaka Koreana

Enlarge Hide captions

In the penultimate episode of Asia Society Korea’s UNESCO World Heritage Series, we visited Haeinsa Temple, a site that has been on the heritage list since 1995. Located within Gayasan National Park, the temple, which was built in 802 AD, is regarded as one of Korea’s three major Buddhist temples along with Tongdosa and Songgwangsa. The site holds great significance not only for its structures but also for the treasure it holds inside, with Haeinsa being home to the Tripitaka Koreana.

The Tripitaka Koreana, first carved by Korean Buddhist scholars in 1011 AD, is a set of 80,000 wood blocks, engraved with Buddhist treaties, laws, and scriptures. These wooden blocks contain the oldest and most complete version of the Buddhist canon and the Tripitake Koreana is viewed as one of the most important Buddhist collections in the world. To prevent the decaying of the wood, tradesmen used innovative conservation techniques that were way ahead of their time. First, the birch was soaked in sea water for three years before it was cut. The cut blocks were then boiled in salt water, placed away from sunlight, and exposed to the wind for three years. Only at this point were the wood blocks finally ready for carving.

The quality and consistency of the calligraphy-style carvings suggest that a single man was responsible for the entire collection but scholars now agree that a team of around thirty men performed the work. The compilers of the Tripitake Koreana incorporated material from Northern Song Chinese, Khitan, and Goryeo scriptures and added further content written by respected Korean monks. After carving, the blocks were covered in a poisonous lacquer to keep insects away and then framed with metal to prevent warping.

The Tripitake Koreana is housed inside Janggyeong Panjeon, a wooden structure comprised of two buildings, Sudarajeon to the south and Beopbojeon to the north. The buildings are simple in design, without decoration, and their sole purpose is storing the wooden blocks. The buildings were designed with air circulation, a resistance to moisture, and temperature control in mind and they have never suffered the effects of fire or war. Today, to protect the Janggyeon Panjeon and Tripitaka Koreana from fire, full-time security guards, a 24-hour surveillance system, and a fire truck are in place to respond to any emergency and visitors’ entries are restricted.  

  • All Posts
  • Ambassador Series
  • Eat Taste Learn (Healthy Food of Asia)
  • East Asia Coverage
  • Event Recaps
  • Get to Know Us
  • Innovative Minds
  • Meet the Author
  • Monthly Lecture Series
  • North Korea Coverage
  • ROK'n Seoul
  • Student Programs
About
  • Mission & History
  • Our People
  • Become a Member
  • Career Opportunities
  • Corporate Involvement
visit us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
global network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Seattle
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, D.C.
resources
  • Arts
  • Asia Society Magazine
  • ChinaFile
  • Education
  • Policy
  • Video
shop
  • AsiaStore
initiatives
  • Arts & Museum Summit
  • Asia 21 Next Generation Fellows
  • Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Society Museum: The Asia Arts & Museum Network
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Asian Women Empowered
  • Center on U.S.-China Relations
  • Coal + Ice
  • Creative Voices of Muslim Asia
  • Global Cities Education Network
  • Global Talent Initiatives
  • U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit
  • U.S.-China Dialogue
  • U.S.-China Museum Summit
Connect
Email Signup For the media
Asia Society logo
©2023 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact

Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government.
The views expressed by Asia Society staff, fellows, experts, report authors, program speakers, board members, and other affiliates are solely their own. Learn more.

 

 

  • Visit Us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Global Network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Seattle
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC