Odaesan

Odaesan, also known as Mount Odaesan or Mount Odae (Hangul: 오대산; Hanja: 五臺山), is a South Korean mountain peak in Gangwon, South Korea, standing at the junction of the districts of Gangneung, Pyeongchang, and Hongcheon. At an elevation of 1,563 m (5,128 ft) it is the centerpiece of Odaesan National Park. The name "Odaesan" means "mountain of five plains," a reference to the five high plains that stand between its five peaks.

Odaesan stands at the junction of the Taebaek Mountains and the Charyeong Mountains, a spur range stretching to the west. The chief of its five peaks is Birobong (Hangul: 비로봉; Hanja: 毘盧峰). It stands just to the south of Seoraksan along the Baekdudaegan, the range of white peaks that make up the symbolic spine of the Korean Peninsula.

History

One of the four royal archives of the Joseon Dynasty is located on the Odaesan. It was founded in 1606 to house the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and Uigwe or "Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty". All but one of the Joseon archives were burned during the Japanese invasions of Korea. Although the Annals themselves were removed in the early 20th century and taken to Japan, where they were lost in the Great Kanto earthquake, the archive has been restored.^{[citation needed]}

Also in 1922, during the Japanese occupation of Korea under the supervision of then Resident-General of Korea Itō Hirobumi, many volumes of books including copies of Uigwe and other relics stored at the royal archive in the Buddhist temple at Odaesan were taken to Japan. In August 2010, then-Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced the return of the Uigwe to mark the centenary of the Japanese annexation of Korea. This was followed by the return of 1,200 volumes including 150 Uigwe in December 2011, which were subsequently kept at the National Palace Museum of Korea.^[1]

Attractions

The Odaesan region is home to a variety of Korean cultural treasures. Buddhist temple Woljeongsa of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is located on the eastern slopes of Odaesan.^[2]

See also

• Wutai Shan, a Chinese mountain of the same name
• Baekdudaegan
• List of mountains in Korea

References

External links

• Odaesan National Park
• (Korean) In Korean language online encyclopedias:
  • Doosan Encyclopedia (Encyber)
  • Korean language Britannica (Empas) (Map)
  • Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (Empas)
  • Pascal World Encyclopedia (Nate)

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