Seven-story Stone Pagoda of Naksansa Temple, Yangyang

This stone pagoda originally had three storeys when first built, but was rebuilt as the present seven-storey pagoda in the thirteenth year of King Sejo (1467). At that time, a rosary made of crystal and a magic jewel are said to have been enshrined inside the pagoda. As Joseon adopted Confucianism as its ruling ideology, Buddhism, which had held the status of state religion for over a thousand years, entered a period of decline, and the fields of art associated with Buddhism inevitably shrank as well; even so, in the early Joseon period some works of Buddhist art were still produced in styles and techniques carried over from Goryeo. The Seven-story Stone Pagoda of Naksansa Temple is one of the pagodas that still retains an echo of the Goryeo style. Its platform consists of a square base stone topped by a foundation stone, the upper surface of which is carved with a twenty-four-petal lotus pattern. The body of the pagoda is formed of roof stones and body stones, one of each per storey, rising through seven storeys. A distinctive feature is that beneath the body stone of each storey is a single tier of support stone, wider and thicker than the body stone itself. The roof stones have flat slopes, and the upturned corners at all four edges blend well together, giving the whole an air of buoyancy. Another distinctive feature is the finial at the top of the pagoda, where various ornaments resembling Yuan-dynasty lama pagodas are preserved in their original form around the central finial pole. While it carries on the style of the Goryeo period, its overall form has been further simplified. It can be compared with the pagoda bodies of the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Sinboksa Temple Site in Gangneung and the Octagonal Nine-story Pagoda of Woljeongsa Temple.

AI Translation

Visiting

Opening hours

06:00–17:30 (visitors must exit the complex by 18:30)

Closed

N/A (Open all year round)

Parking

Available

Information

Hongnyeonam Hermitage: +82-33-672-2475 / 2478 Templestay: +82-33-672-2417

Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Yangyang, Gangwon

Designation

Treasure · 보물