East and West Three-story Stone Pagodas at Gameunsa Temple Site, Gyeongju

King Munmu, who completed the unification of the peninsula, founded this temple on the east coast to assert the new state and to enlist the Buddha against the Japanese raiders coming in off this sea. He did not live to see it finished; his son Sinmun completed it in 682, the second year of his reign. The two pagodas are identical, two base storeys under three body storeys, and they are the first pair set either side of a Silla temple courtyard — a plan that replaced the single central pagoda and became standard. Their distinguishing feature is construction. Rather than being cut from single blocks, each part is assembled from several pieces of stone. The result is heavier and more emphatic than the pagodas that followed, which is what the moment required.

Original Text

Visiting

Opening hours

Open 24 hr

Closed

N/A (Open all year round)

Admission

Free

Parking

Available

Information

+82-54-779-8585

Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보