Gounsa

Buddhist temple in South Korea

Gounsa

Korean name
Hangul|

고운사

Hanja|

孤雲寺

Revised Romanization| Gounsa
McCune–Reischauer| Kounsa

Gounsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It stands in Danchon-myeon, Uiseong County, in the province of Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The temple was built in 681 C.E. by Uisang, a leading Buddhist monk of Silla. The name means "lonely cloud"; these characters were chosen after the temple was visited by scholar Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn. The temple had previously been known by the same name, but with the meaning of "high cloud."

Gounsa served as a center of uibyeong resistance in the Seven Year War, when it was one of few temples to escape being burned by the Japanese forces. The temple did burn in a catastrophic fire in 1835; thus, all current buildings date from the 19th or 20th century.

## See also

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* Korean Buddhist temples
* Religion in South Korea

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gounsa.

* Official site, in Korean
* Asian Historical Architecture: Gounsa Temple