Suncheon Songgwangsa Jogyemun Gate Designated as 'Treasure'

The Nation's Only Holder of Two Iljumun Gates Designated as Treasures

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Kwan-gyu) announced on the 5th that it has delivered the treasure designation certificate for the ‘Suncheon Songgwangsa Jogye Gate (順天 松廣寺 曹溪門)’, designated as a national treasure, to the owner (manager), the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism Songgwangsa Temple.

The Songgwangsa Jogye Gate is the Iljumun, the first gate entering the temple grounds, which embodies the universal value of Iljumun architecture that separates the temple from the surrounding space. It was designated as a treasure after being highly recognized for its historical and academic value by the Cultural Heritage Administration.

Songgwangsa Jogye Gate in Suncheon [Photo by Suncheon City]

Since 2022, the Cultural Heritage Administration has been conducting a comprehensive survey of about 50 Iljumun gates at temples nationwide, selecting those with high value through expert reviews and the Cultural Heritage Committee’s deliberations.

As a result, in December last year, four Iljumun gates, including the ‘Suncheon Seonamsa Iljumun’, were designated as treasures, and this time, six additional Iljumun gates, including the ‘Suncheon Songgwangsa Jogye Gate’, were newly designated as treasures.

The city stated that with the designation of the Songgwangsa Jogye Gate as a treasure following the Seonamsa Iljumun, it has become the only historical and cultural city in Korea to possess two temple Iljumun gates designated as treasures.

Suncheon = Lee Yeon-kyung, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy hss79@asiae.co.kr