This Buddhist temple in Solbong-ri of Kosan County, Kangwon Province, was built in 1386, the closing days of Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), and was expanded on a large scale in the period of the feudal Joson dynasty (1392-1910), with 53 buildings.

It took the first position among the temples in Korea in terms of scale, plottage and number of attached buildings.

But most of its buildings were destroyed and burnt out by the bombings of U.S. air corps during the Korean War (1950-1953).

Recently, Taeung Hall and seven other buildings at the temple were restored in the principle of historicism.

In May Juche 87 (1998), Chairman Kim Jong Il visited Sokwang Temple and gave an instruction on restoring the historical and cultural relics at the temple to their original state and preserving them well.