TaehungsaTemple is one of the thirty-one primary temples of Korea. As the head temple of the twenty-second parish of Korea's Chogye Order of Buddhism, it has jurisdiction over the minor temples in eight counties and cities such as Haenam, Mokpo, Yongam, Muan, Shinan, Chindo, and Wando.
The temple houses numerous relics and treasures, such as the One Thousand Buddhas and the relics of the high priest Sosan-Taesa. Temple halls within the temple grounds also include Taeungbojon, Myongbujon, Paeksoldang, Taehyanggak, Yonghwadang, Ponghyanggak, Taegwangmyongjon, and Poryongak. Hermitages such as Chonshinam, Chinbulam, Iljiam, Manilam, and Pungmirugam are also located in the temple area.
Stone pagodas at the Taehungsa Temple are: The three-story stone pagoda (Treasure No. 320), located in front of the Eungjinjon hall, the three-story stone pagoda (Treasure No. 301) and the Tongtap pagoda at Pukmirugam hermitage. There is also the five-story pagoda at Manilam heritage site. The temple has fifty-six 'pudos' (shrine pagodas). In Korea, you can't find any other place where so many pudos are located in one temple. All of these features are precious resources for historical research into Buddhist sculpture and the thought of the Choson dynasty.
How can we explain how such a multitude of pudos (shrine pagodas) could have been created in the Haenam region? The answer lies in the number of high priests of great virtue that have come out of Chollanamdo. It also can be explained by the social and cultural factors of the late Choson dynasty, and that period's high technical ability.
Nogudang, the old residence of Kosan, is a relic of Kosan Yun Son-do, a celebrity born in Haenam. Nogudang is one of the most famous high-class residences built in the mid-Choson dynasty. Its multiformed structure and rich style make it a precious source for the study of the houses of high officials of the Choson dynasty. At the hillside of Mt. Togeumsan to the rear of the village, a thick forest of over 500 plum-yews Kosan had planted with his own hands adds a graceful effect to the village.
A royal chartered shrine called Pyochungsa was built within the temple's precincts in appreciation of High Priest Sosan-taesa's meritorious services to levy monk soldiers to repulse the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. The relic hall of High Priest Sosan-taesa was built in 1978 to preserve and exhibit the royal bounty of King Chongjo and various relics that have been kept in the temple in accordance with his will.
The portrait of High Priest Sosan-taesa is enshrined in a separate royal chartered shrine.
Susongsong is a 500 year-old pine tree at the entrance of the county office located at the center of Haenam-gun. It is ardently loved by the inhabitants, who never forget it when introducing the place to visitors.
The tree has had a long life while witnessing history together with Haenam. As the name of this tree ('the guardian of the city') shows, it serves as a symbol of 'the patriotic devotion and fidelity of the people of Haenam.'
Yun Son-do is regarded as one of the great founders of Korean literature. He enriched the uniqueness of Korean literature by expressing the emotions of the Korean people in their own language. He spent most of his life in exile and withdrawal into the remote mountains and solitary islands. He died at the age of 85. When secluded in Kumsoe-dong, Hyonsan-myon, Haenam-gun, he wrote twenty-two poems for a collection titled 'Sanjungshingok,' expressing the scenic beauty of deep mountains and his inmost thoughts. He also wrote forty poems for a collection titled 'Obusashisa' while in Pogildo Island, Wando-gun,
Yun Du-so, one of the most celebrated scholar-painters in the period from the late 17th century to the early 18th century, is a great-grandson of Kosan and the maternal great-grandfather of Tasan Chong Yak-yong. He was proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, and handicrafts, and also was a scholar of Shilhak (practical science) with knowledge of geography, astronomy and mathematics. He is regarded as one of three of the most talented painters in the late Choson dynasty along with Chong Son and Shim Sa-jong.