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Though the temples were degraded in the period of the Ri dynasty when Confucianism was encouraged and Buddhism was rejected, the management and construction of temples were carried on to some extent. That is why temples hold a considerable part in the architectural heritages of Korea.
The temple consists of a building for the Buddhist idol and worship and a building for the daily and religious life of priests.
The former is called puljon (the house of the Buddhist idol), typical of which is Taeung Hall (the building containing idol of Sakyamuni), Kukrak Hall or Muryangsu Hall (the building for the idol of Amitabha) and so on.
Hanging on walls of the buildings were Buddhist paintings commensurate with the names of the houses and character of the Buddhist idols.
From the period of the three kingdoms to the end of later Silla, buildings were arranged symmetrically on both sides of the gate, the pagoda and the main Buddhist hall. But from the end of later Silla through Koryo to the Ri dynasty, pavilions, pagodas and main Buddhist halls were built in the center of the temple and other buildings were arranged freely according to the topography with temples built mainly in mountains.
And the decorations of the pillar supporting device were simple at the end of Koryo and beginning of the Ri dynasty as in case with the existing Ungjin Hall of the Songbul Temple and Pokwang Hall of the Yonthansimwon Temple, but they were gorgeous and conspicuous from the middle of the Ri dynasty as can be seen in the Pokwang Hall of the Chonju Temple.
The formative artistic pieces used in the temples give glimpses of the emotion of the Korean people and their excellent and peculiar talents.
For this reason, the temple buildings and relics in them are of great significance in the study of the history of the development of architecture, painting, sculpture, etc. in the Middle Ages, and they are precious national treasures.
