Jeongyangsa, also romanized Chŏngyang-sa, (정양사, 正陽寺, N 38.6321, E 128.0628) was a Korean Buddhist temple on Mount Geumgang (금강산,金剛山). This temple was known as the best scenic spot in the Mount Geumgang area. Located at an altitude of 848m, it overlooks the Pyohunsa temple, located 1km eastwards and 200m below, on the banks of the Donggeumgang River.^[1]

There were several buildings such as Banyajeon (般若殿, enshrining the Beopgi Bodhisattva as the main Buddha), Yakjeon (藥師殿, an hexagonal hall), Heolseongru (헐성루, 歇惺樓, a small pavilion on the right side of the temple grounds, to see the 12000 peaks of the mountain), Yeongsanjeon, and Nahanjeon, as well as a three-story pagoda and stone lanterns.^[2]

The #12 (1932) of the "Joseon historical site walk" contains several views of each temple around Mt. Geumgang, Jeongyangsa among them.^[3] Some of them can be accessed through Namu_wiki. These pictures taken during the Japanese colonial period are precious since many of these buildings are no longer extant.

During the Korean war, the Bombing of North Korea dropped a total of 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm, on Korea.^[4] "Every installation, facility, and village in North Korea [became] a military and tactical target", and the orders given to the Fifth Air Force and Bomber Command was to "destroy every means of communications and every installation, factory, city, and village".^[5] As a result, Heolseongru, Yeongsanjeon, Myeongbujeon, Seungbang and Nahanjeon have been destroyed by the US bombings of the area.^[6] The other buildings were damaged, but were restored afterwards and classified as the #99 National Treasure (North Korea).^[7]

Paintings

Jeongyangsa was depicted by many Korean painters. Among them:

• Jeong Seon, <Jeongyangsado>, 18th century, pale color on paper, 22.1 x 61.0 cm
• Kim Ha-jong, <Jeongyang Temple below Cheonildae Rocks, 천일대망정양사, 天一臺望正陽寺> as #09 of the Haesando Album, 1815
• Kim Ha-jong also released a <Frontal View of Mt. Geumgang from Hyeolseongru Pavilion, 헐성루망전면전경, 歇性樓望前面全景> as #10 of the same Album, 1815

References

Sources

• EncyKor "정양사 (正陽寺)" [Jeongyangsa]. Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
• Sekino Tadashi (1916–1935). 朝鮮總督府, Japanese Governor of Korea (ed.). 朝鮮古蹟図譜 [Joseon historical sites walk]. 15 volumes.
• Korean Buddhist Jogye Order Headquarters, ed. (2011). 북한의 전통사찰 A B 세트 [North Korean traditional temples]. 養士齋. ISBN 9788996665908.. 10 volumes, 2800 pages. What is said about Jeongyangsa can be accessed through this Naver link.
• Armstrong, Charles K. (2010-12-20). "The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 1950-1960" (PDF). The Asia-Pacific Journal. 8 (51): 1. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
• Conway-Lanz, Sahr (4 August 2014). "The Ethics of Bombing Civilians After World War II: The Persistence of Norms Against Targeting Civilians in the Korean War". The Asia-Pacific Journal. 12 (37).
• "북한의국보유적목록" [2004_North Korea's National Heritage List]. Cultural Heritage Research Institute. 2004. The National Treasure (North Korea) page here is supposed to provide a fair English translation of this list.

External links

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