The Tripitaka Koreana is one of the most complete Buddhist scriptures and are housed at the Haensa Temple. They consist of 81,258 printing woodblocks of about 70x24cm. It took the craftsmen 16 years, from 1236 to 1251 to complete the carving. The depository building, the ‘Janggyeong Panjeon’ consists of two main buildings and while simple in plan, it has the most meticulous technical knowhow for perfect air flow and humidity More information can be found on the Haeinsa UNESCO World Heritage page.

To view the full width page and photographs, see HERE.

Text an Photographs by Jan Haenraets

Jan Haenraets is a Director of Atelier Anonymous Landscapes Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada

The Janggyeong Panjeon at Haeinsa, which houses the Tripitaka Koreana.