To me, the Sansa embody the ideal and typical Korean temple. They may not have the historic significance of Bulguksa or the unique library of Haeinsa, but they are much better preserved, containing some of the oldest standing wooden architecture in the peninsula, and some of the most beautiful too. For that, I have to say they are a much-needed WHS, and I had a dilemma on which of the seven to fit into my trip to Korea in June 2023. Upon examining the evaluation file, I found that only four were actually advised for inscription - Tongdosa, Buseoksa, Beopjusa,
Daeheungsa. Buseoksa and Beopjusa had been covered well by Kyle, and Daeheungsa I found to be too remote to fit into the trip; sadly, I even had to cut Unjusa last minute due to time constraints, so I never could've made it farther southwest. That left Tongdosa, and upon further research, I became more and more surprised that it hasn't truly been reviewed here yet. Tongdosa is one of the three "Jewel Temples" of Korea, representing Gautama Buddha, containing relics of the Buddha, and serving as the head temple of the Jogye Order. Of the three, it's definitely the best preserved, easily trumping Haeinsa and Songgwangsa in this metric, and it's even the largest, not just of the Jewel Temples, but out of all existing temples in Korea! And if that wasn't all enough reason to make it worth the journey, it's within easy reach of Busan, the second largest city in the country. To get there, take the subway to the Nopo bus terminal, and it's a 25-minute bus ride to the Tongdosa bus station, from which you can take a leisurely half-hour hike or a taxi ride to the temple grounds. I was afraid it would be high up in the mountains, making the travel time deceivingly long, but Tongdosa is situated in a lovely river valley, not very high in elevation at all. Really, it strikes me as more of a forest temple than a mountain temple; Haedong Yonggungsa in Busan and Haeinsa both had much greater slopes than this one.

Hiking through the forest, you would first come upon boulders carved with Chinese characters. As you may already know, Korean Buddhist temples historically use the Chinese script since Hangul was only invented during the recent and Confucian Joseon Dynasty. After this comes a field of steles on the backs of stone turtles, each with a different face. Nearby are an old stone flagpole and the first gate to the temple; from here, it's less than five minutes to the main gates, the Iljumun and the Cheonwangmun. Past these, three courtyards can be seen, one after another, each a bit higher than the last, connected in the "Madang" layout, and lined by the most magnificently embellished wooden prayer halls I'd seen on the trip. The colors were so varied and vibrant, and not in the artificial way many heavily restored Joseon monuments tend to be. I could never give justice to the art in words, so I'll be letting the pictures speak for themselves. With so many wonderful prayer halls, each with differences in the art and purpose, I couldn't discuss about them all either; I suggest you just take your time and peek into every little building. The one building that stands above the high bar that the other halls set, though, has to be Daeungjeon Hall, the main Dharma hall and the largest structure in the whole complex. Stepping inside feels a bit like stepping into a cathedral (though probably only a fraction of the volume of Todaiji in Nara, for instance), a place of worship where crowds flock to pray, with so much detail around it takes a few minutes to even take in all the details. Interestingly, this hall has no statue of the Buddha inside. Instead, people pray towards the single open window at the far end of the hall - this looks out onto the sarira stupa called Geumgang Gyedan, which houses the relics of the Buddha, supposedly brought to Korea back in the 7th century. So, instead of praying to a depiction, worshipers pray towards the earthly remains of Buddha himself.

If I were to pick one temple to recommend universally to visitors to Korea, I think Tongdosa would be my strongest candidate. It's simply a wonderful place and arguably the greatest temple in Korea, and I can't believe it's not more well-known, even just among the Sansa. It's extremely authentic, the largest, and one of the most significant religious landmarks in Korea, and it's nearly impossible to get bored of the diverse range of artwork and treasures within. The ease of getting there is a bonus. I'd say it's the best and most important day trip from Busan. All that being said, this is a review for not just Tongdosa, but the Sansa as a whole. From my experience at Tongdosa and research on the other temples, I find it hard to see any unifying characteristic other than them just being fairly historic, fairly isolated, and very well-preserved, overall providing a good showcase of some of the best Buddhist sites in the peninsula. I find it comparable to the Philippine Baroque Churches nomination, lumping a diverse range of sites of one country into a serial site without considering the vast regional and practical variations that exist in each country. I don't even think the "mountain monastery" theme is at all a defining characteristic of these temples. I do think Tongdosa can even stand on its own as a WHS, and because I don't see a harmonious connection between the component sites of this nomination, I'm giving Tongdosa the rating I believe it deserves as a site of great OUV in its own right.