Sokcho Nohak-dong Three-story Stone Pagoda

About thirty minutes' climb from the Seoraksan Mountain training centre towards Dalmabong Peak, this stone pagoda stands on the quiet site of a former temple. It is a three-storey stone pagoda raised on a single-tier base; the first-storey body stone and its roof stone (okgaeseok) are each carved from a single block. The second-storey roof stone and the third-storey body stone form one block, as do the third-storey roof stone and the finial base (noban), while the second-storey body stone is missing. The pagoda's most notable feature is the sabangbul, Buddha images carved on all four sides of the first-storey body stone. Seated figures with circular head halos (dugwang) and body halos (singwang) are carved above lotus pedestals; although heavy weathering obscures their exact form, they are rendered in a stable, well-balanced relief (bujo). Among the stone pagodas of the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province, it is a valuable example carrying carvings of the Four Directional Buddhas, and on stylistic grounds it is thought to date from the middle of the Goryeo period. The pagoda stands 1.8 m tall. The presence of a site of about 200 pyeong around the pagoda, together with roof-tile fragments and a stone embankment, suggests this was the site of a hermitage. It is also said to be the site of Sorimam, a hermitage affiliated with Sinheungsa Temple, though it is not certain whether this is indeed the same location.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sokcho, Gangwon

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료