Kumgangsan Pyohunsa Temple Bodeogam Hermitage

NORTH KOREA, Kangwon, Kumgang

Bodeogam stands for Universal Virtue Hermitage. It is located near Pyohunsa Temple in Manpokdong Valley on Kumgangsan (Diamond Mountain). The hermitage was established by monk Bodeog during the Goguryeo dynasty (37 BCE–668 CE) and later reconstructed in 1808. It is listed as National Treasure No. 98.
The hermitage is built into a sheer cliff over 20 m above the ground. The whole structure is supported on a 7.3 m long wooden pole covered with copper. The pole was erected in 1511 and has been there ever since. The one-by-one bay building has three layers of roofs; the first level has a hip-and-gable roof, the second one is an overhanging gable roof, and the third is a hip roof. The columns are decorated with lotuses and the roof is supported with single bracket sets. The plafond has a crisscross pattern. According to Poem on Bodeogam Hermitage, at the back of the structure there is a natural cave which measures 5.3 m deep, 1.6 m to 2 m wide, and 1 m to 2 m high.
This hermitage is excellent testimony to the ingenuity and artistry of the architects and craftsmen of that time.