Seongju Temple's East three-story pagoda to be named national treasure

The East three-story stone pagoda at Seongju Temple in Boryeong City, which was created in the late Unified Silla era, will be designated as a national treasure.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced Friday it will designate the three-story stone tower as a new treasure in the national collection. Currently, the temple site is the 307th historical site while the east stone pagoda is the 26th tangible historical heritage of South Chungcheong Province. The temple was built by monk Nanghye in 847, which was closed down around 1,000 years later in the late period of the Joseon Dynasty.

A total of five stone towers, including the tower monument that commemorates Nanghye (national treasure No. 8), are preserved in the Seongju Temple site. A five-tiered stone tower (national treasure No. 19) stands in front of the main building of the temple. On the backyard, here stand the three-tiered stone pagoda (national treasure No. 20), the west three-tiered stone tower (national treasure No. 47), and the east one soon to be included in the national treasure collection.

The architectural layout is the sole case in Korea. Academia infer that the five-story stone tower was built in front of the main building, making for one tower for one main temple building, and later three-stone towers were relocated at the backyard of the main building.


Won-Mo Yu onemore@donga.com