Three-story Stone Pagoda of Baekjoksa Temple, Cheongju

This three-story stone pagoda stands within the grounds of Baekjoksa Temple, on the southern slope near the summit of Baeksoksan Mountain in Gadeok-myeon, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju. There are no documentary records of when Baekjoksa was founded or of its subsequent history. According to legend, King Sejo of Joseon was once passing through this area and washed his feet there, which turned out to be white (baek); this is said to have given the mountain its name, Baeksoksan ("White Foot Mountain"). The temple is said to have originally been a hermitage called Simjinam, later renamed after the mountain. The present-day Baekjoksa was rebuilt on the old temple site when the Daeungjeon Hall was reconstructed in 1930, and now comprises the Daeungjeon Hall, the Samseonggak (Hall of the Three Sages) and a monks' quarters. The pagoda stands on open ground beside the Daeungjeon Hall and is said to have been discovered in the 1940s and restored to this site. Its base consists of a pagoda-body-shaped middle stone and a cover stone set upon a slab that appears to serve as a ground stone; the first-story body stone has been reinforced with cement, while the roof stone above the first story retains its original material. Corner pillars are carved in relief on the body stones, and the roof stones bear four tiers of stepped eaves supports and rain-drip grooves, with gently sloping drip surfaces. The roof stone of the third story is badly damaged, its eaves having broken away, and the finial is entirely lost, replica ornaments such as a bokbal (covered-bowl finial piece) having been added when the pagoda was restored. Judging from the carved corner pillars, the upward curve of the eaves, the four-tiered eaves supports and the rain-drip grooves, the pagoda is presumed to date from the Goryeo period. It stands 200 cm high overall, with the first-story body stone 31 cm high and 41.5 cm wide; although so much has been lost that its original form cannot be known with certainty, it appears to have been, on the whole, a well-proportioned and neatly built small pagoda. The elegant, broad cover stones of each roof stone, the gentle upward curve of the eaves, and the flat, thin drip surfaces all show characteristics typical of the Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료