Mireuksa Temple Site, Iksan

This is the site of a Baekje-period temple in Giyang-ri, Iksan. According to the Samguk yusa, when King Mu of Baekje was travelling with the queen to Sajasa Temple, a Maitreya triad appeared in a pond beneath Yonghwasan Mountain; at the queen's request the pond was filled in and pagodas, main halls and cloisters were built in three places. Records show that Mireuksa was built under King Mu of Baekje and fell into disuse during the Joseon period. The temple's layout had stone pagodas to the east and west with a wooden pagoda in the middle, and behind each pagoda stood a main hall (geumdang) enshrining the Buddha, the whole divided by corridors into a highly unusual arrangement of temple buildings. The main hall measured five bays across the front and four bays on the side, with an empty space beneath the floor that appears to have guarded against damp. Ondol underfloor-heating facilities found in building sites from the Goryeo and Joseon periods provide important material for studying the development of ondol. The excavated artefacts are varied, including roof tiles, earthenware, metalwork and wood, with many inscribed roof tiles also found. The stone pagoda in front of the west main hall is the oldest surviving stone pagoda in Korea, built using the techniques of wooden architecture. Its collapsed rear section, once reinforced with cement, was finally restored in 2019. A restored model of Mireuksa is now on display at the National Iksan Museum. Mireuksa was a state-protection temple built to ward off invasions from Silla through the power of Buddhism, and is considered to have played an important role right up to the fall of Baekje, giving it great historical value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Iksan, Jeonbuk

Designation

Historic Site · 사적