First Time In 770 Years, Tripitaka Koreana Opens To The Public

Monk at Haein Temple. (Wikimedia Commons/joonghijung)

JAKARTA - The Tripitaka Koreana, known as the oldest and most comprehensive version of the Buddhist canon in the world which is housed at the UNESCO-designated Haein Temple in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea will be open for public viewing from June 19.

This is the first time in its 770-year history since its creation that the ancient relic will be accessible to the public after appearing in a limited series of performances at special Buddhist ceremonies and festivals.

A 'tour' of the work, designed to introduce and spread the values of Buddhist cultural assets, will take place at 10 am and 2 pm every Saturday and Sunday.

"Since it was created with the longing to overcome past national crises, we decided that the same message of hope can be applied to our current national suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jingak Sunim of Haein Temple at a press conference at Jogye Temple, Seoul, South Korea last June 3.

Korean Tripitaka. (Wikimedia Commons/Arian Zwegers/MrPanyGoff)

The Tripitaka Koreana is a set of 81,352 wooden blocks carved with more than 52 million characters, depicting Buddhist scriptures. Work began in 1237 (during the Goryeo Kingdom) and took 12 years to complete.

It is believed its production will help in the protection of the region, following the loss of the original Tripitaka which was lost in a fire during the Mongolian invasion of Goryeo in 1232.

As a symbol of the immense national commitment to manpower and resources, the artifact was designated as Korea's National Treasure No. 32 in 1962 and was added to the UNESCO World Memory List in 2007.

Those wishing to tour the Buddhist temples and artifact storage can visit the official Haein Temple website and make an online reservation.

Each visit will last between 40 to 50 minutes. For preservation and safety reasons, each tour will be limited to a maximum of 20 visitors, with preschoolers not eligible to participate.