Temple story · Editorial summary, not a direct quote
The Flag Behind the Altar
Discovery of independence-movement relics at Jingwansa
Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 'Independence newspapers held at Jingwansa', 'Jingwansa'; Korea Heritage Service portal: 'Taegeukgi from Jingwansa Temple in Seoul'
In 2009, repairs to a hall at Jingwansa turned up, in a pouch fixed to the wall behind its altar, a bundle of 1919 independence newspapers wrapped in a Korean flag.
In May 2009, while a hall at Jingwansa was being taken apart for repair, a large pouch of hanji paper was found fixed to the wall behind the altar. Inside was a bundle of newspapers wrapped in a Taegeukgi, the Korean flag, used as a cloth: nineteen newspapers and documents issued between June and December 1919, including the Shanghai edition of the Independence News. The flag itself had been made by painting the taegeuk and the four trigrams in ink over a Japanese flag. Its burnt edge and many holes suggest it was used at independence demonstrations in 1919 or after, and scholars presume it was hidden by Baek Cho-wol, a monk of Jingwansa, or by a monk close to him. As you walk the grounds, remember that a wall in one of these halls kept this secret for decades.