Five-story Stone Pagoda at Seongjusa Temple Site, Boryeong

Seongjusa is said to have been the same temple as Ohapsa, which, according to the Samguk sagi, was founded in the reign of King Beop of Baekje. During the reign of King Munseong of Unified Silla, the monk Nanghye, who had returned from Tang China, became the abbot of the temple and made it flourish, whereupon the king bestowed on it the name "Seongjusa." The temple burned down during the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598, and today only the temple site remains. This pagoda stands in front of what appears to be the site of the temple's main hall, and behind it stand three three-storey stone pagodas side by side; they differ from one another only in the number of storeys, their workmanship being similar. The pagoda consists of a five-storey body set on a two-tier base. Pillar shapes are carved at the corners and centre of each face of the base, and above the base a separate flat stone is fitted in to support the body of the pagoda. The body stones and roof stones of each storey are each made of a single stone, with pillar shapes carved at the corners of each face. The underside of each roof stone has four tiers of supports, and the underside of the eaves is level before curving up slightly at the tip. Overall this is a typical Unified Silla-period pagoda, but the separate supporting stone fitted beneath the first-storey body stone is a new feature that leads on to Goryeo stone pagodas, and the pagoda is thought to have been built in the late Unified Silla period. The composition of each storey is well organised and the pagoda has an elegant appearance.

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Where it is

Region

Boryeong, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물