Hwangnyongsa Temple Site
Hwangnyongsa · Hwanggungnyongsa · Hwangryongsa Temple · Imperial Dragon Temple
Three Kingdoms Silla 553–668 → Unified Silla 668–935 → Goryeo 935–1238·Silla state Buddhism (Hwangnyongsa doctrinal)·🇰🇷 Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongju City, Hwangnyongsa district north of Wolseong, 500 m north of Bunhwangsa (Gyeongju plain), South Korea
About
About Hwangnyongsa Temple Site
Hwangnyongsa — largest Silla temple (553–1238 CE) 800 m north Wolseong, Gyeongju plain, excavated 1976–83 CHA (Gyeongju Institute). Hwangnyongsa was Silla state temple per Samguk Yusa: 9-storey wooden pagoda 68 m high (destroyed 1238 Mongol), gilt triple temple with 360-m cloister, bronze Buddha triad (Zhang Yanyuan 8th c record). Founded 553 King Jinheung, pagoda commissioned Queen Seondeok 645 after monk Jajang returned from Tang, destroyed 1238 Mongol invasions, never rebuilt. Current park with base stones and pagoda foundation. UNESCO Gyeongju Historic Areas 2000.
Why it mattersLargest Silla temple — 68-m 9-storey pagoda with Tang-influenced triad Buddha and state-protection ideology
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 019-storey symbolism — 9 Silla enemies or Buddhist cosmology?
Theories
- 01Hwangnyongsa as Silla hoguk (state-protection) Buddhism per Vermeersch
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 553 CE Jinheung foundation; 9-storey pagoda 645 CE Seondeok; destroyed 1238 Mongol
- Period
- Three Kingdoms Silla 553–668 → Unified Silla 668–935 → Goryeo 935–1238
- Culture
- Silla state Buddhism (Hwangnyongsa doctrinal)
- Builders
- Silla kings Jinheung–Seondeok and Baekje/Tang artisans
- Purpose
- Silla state-protection temple (hoguk) with 68-m 9-storey pagoda symbolising 9 Silla conquests
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
553
King Jinheung founds Hwangnyongsa state temple
645
Queen Seondeok 9-storey pagoda after Jajang Tang pilgrimage
1238
Mongol invasion destroys pagoda
1976–83
CHA excavations reveal cloister and pagoda base
On the ground
Structures & features
35.8350° N · 129.2330° E · 43 m · 2 mapped features
Nine-Storey Pagoda Foundation
pagoda20×20 m pagoda base that supported 68-m nine-storey wooden pagoda centre
35.8360° N · 129.2322° EEastern Golden Hall with Buddha Triad Base
hallEastern kondō base with gilt bronze triad sculpture plinth north
35.8335° N · 129.2341° E