The block halls
Natural ventilation.
Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · G41rn8 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Haeinsa is a Buddhist temple in Gayasan National Park, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and the head temple of the Jogye Order. It is famous for keeping, since 1398, the Tripitaka Koreana: the complete Buddhist scriptures carved on 81,350 wooden printing blocks. The temple was first built in 802 and is one of Korea's Three Jewel Temples. The halls that store the blocks became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 for a design that has protected the wood from damp and insects through natural ventilation for centuries. It is still an active meditation centre. From outside you see wooden halls with curved grey roofs and green and red patterns under the eaves, and a wide sandy courtyard decorated with flower beds in autumn. At the top of the complex stand two long, plain halls for the blocks, and pine forest and a valley with a rocky stream surround the temple. It is about 27 km from the town of Hapcheon in a straight line. It is an active place of worship, so keep quiet and do not take photos inside the halls.
Natural ventilation.
Curved.
A rocky stream.
Gayasan National Park, Hapcheon, South Korea
The full Buddhist scriptures carved on 81,350 wooden blocks.
Only through the openings of the halls, without entering.