Sansa (temple)

Sansa
Bongjeongsa in Andong
Korean name
Hangul	산사
Hanja	山寺
Revised Romanization	Sansa
McCune–Reischauer	Sansa

Sansa (Korean: 산사; lit. mountain temple) is a term for any Korean Buddhist temple located on a mountain. Seven of these temples are designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.^[1] With the country being largely mountainous and Buddhism deeply rooted in its history, there are many sansas across the country.

The word sansa is composed of two words, san and sa, which mean mountain and monastery/temple respectively.

UNESCO World Heritage sansas

Sansa		Location	Established
	Tongdosa (Korean: 통도사; Hanja: 通度寺; RR: Tongdosa; MR: T'ongdosa)	Yangsan	646[2]
	Buseoksa (Korean: 부석사; Hanja: 浮石寺; RR: Buseoksa; MR: Pusŏksa)	Yeongju	676[2]
	Bongjeongsa (Korean: 봉정사; Hanja: 鳳停寺; RR: Bongjeongsa; MR: Pongjŏngsa)	Andong	677[2]
	Beopjusa (Korean: 법주사; Hanja: 法住寺; RR: Beopjusa; MR: Pŏpchusa)	Boeun County	Mid 8th Century[2]
	Magoksa (Korean: 마곡사; Hanja: 麻谷寺; RR: Magoksa; MR: Magoksa)	Gongju	Latter half of the 9th Century[2]
	Seonamsa (Korean: 선암사; Hanja: 仙巖寺; RR: Seonamsa; MR: Sŏnamsa)	Suncheon	Latter half of the 9th Century[2]
	Daeheungsa (Korean: 대흥사; Hanja: 大興寺; RR: Daeheungsa; MR: Taehŭngsa)	Haenam County	Latter half of the 9th Century[2]

See also

• Korean Buddhist temples
• UNESCO's page for Sansa

References

1. "Mountain temples join Unesco list : Sansa are at least 1,000 years old and contain unique Korean elements". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
2. "Nomination of Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea: For Inscription on the World Heritage List". whc.unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 2021-11-26.