Pohyon Temple

Eleventh-century Buddhist temple at the foot of Mount Myohyang

Pohyon-sa (also spelled Pohyonsa) is a working Korean Buddhist temple at the entrance to the Myohyang valley, founded in 1042. It is one of the few functioning Buddhist sites in the DPRK, and the resident monks lead short ceremonies when groups arrive. The compound includes the Sokka Pagoda, a 13-storey octagonal stone pagoda that dates to the 14th century and survived the wartime bombing.

The grounds are quiet and shaded by tall pines. Even within the constraints of a guided visit, there is enough time to wander between the halls and look at the carved beams and the lacquered Buddha images. A small museum on the site displays Buddhist scriptures and ritual objects recovered from temples elsewhere in North Korea.

things to do sight
A story
Pohyonsa once held the only complete printed set of the Tripitaka Koreana in North Korea, and the temple was a major centre of Korean Buddhist scholarship from the 11th century until the Korean War, when much of it was destroyed by American bombing and later rebuilt.