Temple story · Editorial summary, not a direct quote
A Main Hall from Another Faith
History of Jogyesa's main hall
Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 'Jogyesa Daeungjeon', 'Jogyesa', 'Bocheongyo'
Jogyesa's main hall is the Sibiljeon, a hall built in Jeongeup by the new religion Bocheongyo, bought in 1937 and rebuilt in Seoul.
In 1935, the abbots of Korea's head temples resolved to build a headquarters temple whose main hall, unlike their Japanese-style Gakhwangsa, would be in a 'purely Korean' style. In March 1937, the committee for the headquarters temple decided to build it by relocating the Sibiljeon, a hall that the new religion Bocheongyo had raised in Jeongeup, traditional in style yet rivaling the Japanese Shinto shrines in scale. As Bocheongyo was dissolved under Japanese colonial pressure, the Buddhists bought the hall that spring, took it apart and carried its timbers to Seoul. Rebuilt with few changes, it was consecrated as a Buddhist hall on October 25, 1938, and the temple, after bearing the name Taegosa, became Jogyesa in 1962. In front of the hall, look at the tall stone bases set under its pillars when it was moved.