Unjusa

Unjusa or Unju Temple is a Korean Buddhist temple located in Hwasun County, South Jeolla province, South Korea. It is 26 km (16 mi) southwest of Hwasun County or 40 km (24 mi) south of Gwangju. Compared with other temples in South Korea, this temple has an unusual collection of stone Buddha statues and stone pagodas, so Unjusa is often referred to as the mysterious temple. Among several assumptions regarding its origin, the most widely known one is that Monk Doseon founded the temple based on geomancy during the late period of Silla Dynasty (57 BC – 935 AD), but the origins remain unverified. Unjusa is designated as Treasure #312 and is the site of the well known Treasure #796, Unjusa Gucheung Seaktap (Nine-story Stone Pagoda at Unjusa). Four excavations and two academic studies occurred at the temple, conducted by Jeonnam National University Museum from 1984 to 1991, but the exact time the temple was built, by whom, and construction methods remains a mystery. Legend has it that according to the traditional theory of Korean geomancy, the peninsula was thought to be unbalanced and in danger of capsizing because there were fewer mountains in Honam, the southwestern part of the peninsula, than in Yeongnam, in the southeastern part. To prevent this disaster, one night Monk Doseon (도선국사) called stone masons down from heaven to build a thousand Buddha statues and pagodas at Unjusa, in the southwestern part of the peninsula. However, before the last Buddha statues could be completed, the cock crowed recalling the stonemasons back to heaven just before the crack of dawn, leaving two statues lying unfinished on the ground. These two unfinished statues became known as "Wabul" (와불) or The Stone Statues of the Lying Buddha. A more practical explanation is that Unjusa was created as a school for stonemasons. Unjusa is known for being as the only Korean Buddhist temple to ever have had over a thousand stone Buddha statues and stone pagodas(Cheonbul Cheontap, 천불천탑), as documented in the 1432 text Donggukyeojiseungram (동국여지승람).