Frontal View of Seolseondang Hall and Dormitory of Naesosa TempleBuddhist priests in Naesosa Temple located in Seokpo-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Seolseondang Hall where they mediate, and dormitory where they live. Seolseondang Hall and Temple Dormitory are designated as Jeollabuk-do Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 125.
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Location243, Naesosa-ro Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
- Korean내소사 설선당과 요사
- Chinese來蘇寺設禪堂-寮舍
- FieldReligion / Buddhism
- Contents TypeHistoric Site / Building
- Current Location243, Naesosa-ro Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- Seolseondang Hall and Dormitory of Naesosa Temple are two late-Joseon buildings located in Seokpo-ri, Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- Seolseondang Hall is a meditation house for both monks and lay persons, while the dormitory is a living space of the monastic community based at Naesosa Temple.
- Location
- Seolseondang Hall and the dormitory are located in the precincts of Naesosa Temple in Jinseo-myeon, Buan-gun. The buildings are on the opposite side of Museoldang Hall, in the courtyard of Daeungbojeon Hall.
- Development
- Seolseondang Hall and the dormitory of Naesosa Temple are believed to have been built in 1640, when the temple was renovated under the leadership of Cheongmin. Both buildings underwent two major repairs, Seolseondang in 1985 and 1986, the dormitory in 1978 and 1986.
- Layout and Structure
- Both Seolseondang Hall and the dormitory feature a square layout, each with a part designed to have a second floor. Seolseondang Hall, situated to the west of the temple’s central courtyard, is a six-bay by three-bay structure complete with a gable roof, a narrow wooden-floored verandah (toenmaru) on the right, and a kitchen furnished with a large fireplace on the left. The kitchen is linked with the building’s largest room and has entries to the courtyard and the caretaker’s lodge in the north. The rear wall of Seolseondang Hall is bordered by the front yard of Daeungbojeon Hall, and its foundation edged with a single line of long rectangular ashlars. Its round columns are erected on the bases of natural stones. The sections under the eaves are ornamented with the double-wing bracket system.
The dormitory (yosa) is a two-story, six-bay by two-bay structure with a gable roof. The ground floor contains the monks’ bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, while the second floor contains a wooden-floored storage with large lattice windows used for light and ventilation. The dormitory features a lean-to at the rear (i.e. eastern) wall and “eyebrow roofs” on the gables.
Both Seolseondang Hall and the dormitory feature a square layout and have second-floor rooms in their eastern and northern corners. The northern “lofty floor” has no walls at the front or back, while the eastern floor is used as a granary. The storage has large lattice windows on its eastern wall, and a floor in double steps, although it originally had four steps. It also has a lean-to containing a bedroom and a storage, while the ground floor is also used as a bedroom and storage.
Seolseondang Hall and the dormitory, which stand parallel with each other, are linked by a third building whose roof is slightly lower. This annex building’s second floor effectively connects the two main buildings, which are built at different levels. The southern part of the annex is used as a bedroom and has a narrow wooden-floored verandah.
- Current Status
- While the original layout of Seolseondang Hall has been maintained, that of the dormitory has not because its kitchen (south) has been converted into a bedroom. The ground floor consists of dormitory rooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. Part of the kitchen is open to visitors, allowing them to see some of the temple’s culinary heritages, including a large iron cauldron that was used to cook rice for the monastic community. The two buildings were collectively designated as Provincial Tangible Cultural Heritage of Jeollabuk-do No. 125 on September 8, 1986.
- Historical Significance
- Seolseondang Hall of Naesosa Temple is regarded as a rare example of a multistory building in the history of Korea’s premodern architecture. For Korean architects of the premodern period, building a two-story house was a significantly more difficult task than building a single-story house, as it required more complex plans, systems and techniques to organically connect the lower structure with the upper structure.
As regards Korean Buddhist architecture, Seolseondang Hall is one of a few monastic dormitories, other examples being the dormitories of such historic temples as Songgwangsa, Seonamsa and Hwaeomsa temples, all of which are regarded as valuable sources of information on the multiple-story buildings of Korea in the premodern period, spatial division, and building techniques