Sinan-gun and Haenam Daeheungsa Temple Promote 'Musimsa Restoration'

Restoration of Musimsa Temple, a Maritime Buddhist Culture Hub from Unified Silla to Goryeo Periods

[Sinan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-kyung] On the 17th, Jeollanam-do Sinan-gun hosted the chief monks of Haenam Daeheungsa Beopsang, Haenam Mihwangsa Hyangmun, and Haenam Iljiam Beopgang, who represent the southwestern region of Jeollanam-do, at Sinan-gun for a business consultation on the restoration of Musimsa Temple. They engaged in in-depth discussions with Deputy Governor Park Hyung-ho.

The ‘Sinan Heuksan Jinri Musimsaji Three-story Stone Pagoda and Stone Lantern’ is an important relic indicating the existence of Musimsa Temple from the Unified Silla to the Goryeo period.

In 1999, during an excavation by Mokpo National University, a tile fragment inscribed with ‘Musimsa Seonwon’ was discovered, revealing the presence of a Seon (Zen) sect temple from the Unified Silla era.

The founding period of Musimsa is estimated to be the late 9th century Unified Silla period. The Jeonnam Cultural Heritage Research Institute’s 2017 publication ‘Sinan Heuksando Musimsaji I·II’ and the Buddhist Cultural Heritage Research Institute’s 2021 excavation suggested the temple was likely established in the early to mid-9th century, based on the activities of Jang Bogo and the activation of maritime trade.

The location is Jinri Village and Sangra Mountain Fortress on Heuksan Island. Next to the site is the former Heuksanjin government office, which managed Heuksan Island. It is presumed that officials and Seon practitioners staying on Heuksan Island offered Buddhist services praying for daily safety and successful voyages. Moreover, many monks stayed at Musimsa before embarking on studies in China and encountered the latest Buddhist scriptures and artifacts carried by international trade fleets passing through Jinri Port.

To restore Musimsa, the cradle of a millennium of Buddhism that flourished brilliantly in Jeollanam-do, Sinan-gun signed an MOU with the Jogye Order Headquarters in 2021 and is promoting the construction of the Musimsa Inbeopdang Hall together with Haenam Daeheungsa, which is in charge of the project.

Deputy Governor Park Hyung-ho, who presided over the Musimsa restoration business meeting that day, stated, “We will actively cooperate with Haenam Daeheungsa to restore Musimsa,” adding, “I hope the status of the millennium-old Buddhism that flourished brilliantly in Sinan-gun will be revived through the restoration of Musimsa.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor Park Hyung-ho, who was appointed to Sinan-gun in July, is known as an expert in Buddhist cultural resources in Jeonnam Province. During his tenure as head of the Jeonnam Provincial Forestry and Recreation Division, he promoted the abolition of the cultural heritage admission fee at Gurye Cheoneunsa Temple, which had lasted for 33 years, the construction of forest roads in the Bulmireukam section of Haenam Daeheungsa, the maintenance of the Iljumun gate valley at Yeongam Dogapsa Temple, and the maintenance of the valley within Suncheon Geumdunsa Temple, all with permits for cultural heritage alteration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.