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Being one of the largest temples within Seoul's city limits, Jogye-sa, Seoul
which is positioned near Insa-dong is considered as the headquarters for Chogyejong,
the largest sect of Buddhists in Korea. Each year this temple holds a major Lantern
Festival in honor of Buddha's Birthday. By virtue of its authority among Korea's
Buddhist inhabitants, nearby are numerous shops selling various Buddhist-related
paraphernalia.
In order to celebrate Buddha Birthday, thousands of devout Buddhists at almost every Buddhist temple throughout the country of Korea, start hanging multi-colored lotus lanterns several weeks before the actual date. Hee comes the context of this temple! Each year, the most remarkable exhibition and Lantern parade is held by Jogye-sa, Seoul. What happens is that shortly after dark, thousands of people parade down some of Seoul's major streets to Jogye-sa, carrying lanterns, many of which they made themselves. Aptly playing a leading role in the current state of Seon Buddhism in South Korea, Jogye-sa, Seoul is the principal temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Set up in 1395, at the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty, the temple was founded in 1910 and originally named as "Hwanggaksa." The name was altered to "Taegosa" during the Japanese rule and then converted to the present name in 1954. Positioned in Gyeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, in central Seoul, Jogye-sa, Seoul houses natural monument 9, an ancient white pine tree situated within the temple arena. As many a monk trying to occupy the temple in a power struggle between factions of the Jogye Order, the temple came to the notice of the international news media in December, 1998. In the end, riot police were called in to take the charge of the temple and threw out the protestors after the agitators had occupied the building for more than 40 days.
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