Stone Pagoda at Mireuksa Temple Site, Iksan

Mireuksa was the largest temple Baekje built, founded under King Mu in the early seventh century, and it broke the usual plan: three pagodas and three golden halls instead of one of each. This is the western pagoda. It is the oldest stone pagoda in Korea whose date is known, and the largest. Nine storeys are thought to have stood; six survived, in ruins, about 14.2 metres above a base 12.5 metres across. In 1915 the Japanese administration poured concrete over the collapsed side, and it stayed that way for a century. Twenty years of dismantling and repair ended in 2019. Look at the first storey: three bays a side, a doorway through the middle of each, columns that taper upward and rise slightly at the corners, each on its own base stone as a timber column would be. The collapsed half was not rebuilt — a decision still argued about, and an honest one.

Original Text

Where it is

Region

Iksan, Jeonbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보