Seven-story Stone Pagoda at Cheongoksa Temple Site, Jeongeup

This pagoda stands on a hillside to the west of Manje-dong, in a spot commonly known as Jeongoksa-ji. It is a square-plan stone pagoda with seven storeys of body stones set on a low, single-tier platform. The platform rests on a foundation stone made of eight pieces, with a low, single-tier platform formed of one slab-like stone above it. The platform is roughly dressed, with no carving on its sides. A cover-stone-like moulding runs around the upper edge of the sides; the upper surface is dressed with a slight slope, and a low support is carved out at the centre to receive the pagoda body. This kind of platform structure is not found in stone pagodas of the Unified Silla period; it is an unusual form, but one seen in the group of stone pagodas at Unjusa Temple, showing it to be a type of platform structure that began in the Goryeo period. Except for the body stones from the first to the third storey, every other body stone and every roof stone is carved from a single piece of stone. The first-storey body stone is unusually slender and tall, formed of four stone slabs like a square pillar, with no corner pilasters expressed on any face. The body stones of the second and third storeys are each made of two stone pieces, and on every storey corner pilasters are carved out on each face. Overall the first-storey body is built unusually tall, and because the rate of diminution above the second storey is small, the pagoda as a whole appears very tall and steep. The roof stones are shaped identically from the first to the seventh storey; they are narrow and thick, giving a heavy, dense impression. The upper surface of each roof stone is flat and shallow, so the slope for water runoff is gentle, yet the ridge lines at the corners are sharply carved. At the top of each roof stone a single angular tier is carved out to support the body stone of the storey above, a feature consistent through all seven storeys. On the underside of each roof stone, a shallow drip groove is carved along the horizontally projecting eaves, and lotus-petal designs are carved on the supporting section. All the petals face upward and are carved so densely, from the side of the eaves to the inner face touching the body stone, that the pattern naturally takes on a slender form. Sixteen upward-facing petals in all are carved, four to a side, with no further decoration within each petal. This lotus-petal ornament not only emphasises a slight upward curve at the eave corners but also creates the impression that the roof stones narrow, giving the whole pagoda an even more slender and towering effect. Carving lotus-petal designs on the underside of roof stones in this way can also be seen on the Unified Silla-period Three-storey Stone Pagoda at Baekjangam Hermitage of Silsangsa Temple in Namwon, but it is not a style commonly found in the Goryeo period. All the finial parts have been lost, leaving only a single dew-basin stone resting on the seventh-storey roof stone. Because of the unusual style of its roof stones, this pagoda is classified as an atypically-shaped stone pagoda. Overall, the joining of the stonework is greatly simplified, the carving of the lotus-petal designs is somewhat crude, and the pagoda lacks a sense of stability owing to its slenderness and height; for these reasons it is presumed to have been built sometime after the middle of the Goryeo period.

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Where it is

Region

Jeongeup, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물