Heunghoeru Pavilion of Sutasa Temple, Hongcheon

Built in 1658, the ninth year of King Hyojong, the Heunghoeru Pavilion of Sutasa Temple in Hongcheon is a rare example of a nu-gangdang, a building combining an elevated pavilion with a lecture hall, and the oldest such building in Gangwon-do. Although it underwent some changes in the modern period after its founding, its basic plan and structure, bracket system and timber frame, and other details still preserve the original form well; in particular, its use of a jusim-soro, a small supporting block placed on the column-head line above the capital in the same way as an additional capital, gives it important value for the study of the stylistic features of late-Joseon architecture, and it is worth designating and preserving on that basis. Heunghoeru has a rectangular plan of five bays across the front and three bays to the side. It stands on a single-tier stone platform of natural stones; the platform is low relative to the scale of the building, leaving considerable scope for drainage problems. The foundation stones are likewise natural stones of very irregular shape. The frame is raised on twelve short columns, four tall columns on the left and right sides, and four central tall columns set in the middle of the building. All are round columns, precisely finished according to an orderly plan; whereas the columns of most temple pavilions are commonly left as roughly finished logs with only the bark stripped off, the carefully finished columns of Heunghoeru are a distinctive feature of the building. The frame structure is basically of the one-tall-column, five-purlin type, but instead of an ordinary tall column it follows the unusual method of erecting a central tall column in the middle of the plan; as a result, rather than a single main beam, matched beams are joined around the central column, with a ridge beam set above them, while the side walls to left and right are framed as a two-tall-column, five-purlin structure. A total of eight matched beams and six ridge beams are used, and, apart from a single matched beam on the left side, the rest are made to almost identical dimensions, showing marked uniformity in shape and size; beams with curves or warping are hard to find, suggesting that great care was taken in construction, from the procurement of timber through to its finishing. The dwarf posts are finished as if a capital had been added to them, and the king posts hidden within the ceiling panels are even painted with dancheong, the traditional decorative colouring, suggesting that they were originally left exposed; they are of an old-fashioned type, very elaborately carved. The cross-section of the tie-beam joined to the short columns has both sides cut away so that the shape of the column stands out in relief, a method known to be older than that of shaping the tie-beam to match the column directly. The bracket sets are of the jusimpo type, placed only above the columns, with a single outward projection whose length is 320 mm both at front and rear; the front and rear bracket sets appear similar in the shape of their members but differ slightly in detail—the beam-shaped bracket arms are similar, but the bracket arms proper are of an entirely different form, and it is not known whether this reflects the original design or a later replacement. Among the small supporting blocks used at Heunghoeru, a notable feature is the jusim-soro placed on the column-head line above the capital in the same way as an additional capital, a form otherwise seen in jusimpo-style architecture of the early Joseon period; examples of a soro used at this position are rarely found in buildings of the late Joseon period, and although a very minor detail, it is an important technique for assessing the building's architectural value. Equally notable in the frame structure is the row of central tall columns set at the centre of the side elevation. Temple pavilions with such a row of central tall columns down the middle include Gaunru Pavilion of Gounsa Temple and Manseru Pavilion of Seonunsa Temple, but most temple pavilions avoid setting tall columns in the centre, since doing so scatters and obstructs the interior sightlines.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hongcheon, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산