Magoksa’s five-story stone pagoda becomes national treasure

Five-story stone pagoda of Magoksa Temple in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, famous for its unique shape of a tower on top of a tower, will become a national treasure.

The Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea announced on Thursday that it will promote the five-story stone pagoda of the temple as a national treasure. The stone pagoda is believed to have been built around the 14th century in the late Goryeo Dynasty. A 1.8-meter-tall gilt-bronze pagoda called ‘Pungmadong’ is placed on top of the stone pagoda body. It is the only stone pagoda in South Korea built in this style. The gilt-bronze pagoda is a reproduction of the style of pagodas popularized in China’s Yuan Dynasty.

The two-story stone pagoda base is a Baekje-style stone pagoda popularized during the Goryeo Dynasty. The base stone is carved with a curved shape that resembles a crab’s eye. “This is the first case of a stone pagoda in existence to be carved with such a shape,” said the Cultural Heritage Administration. “The pagoda has great academic and artistic value.”

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on the day, Yeongsan Hoesangdo of Haesinsa Temple in Hapcheon and Painting of Sakyamuni Buddha Triad of Jikjisa Temple in Gimcheon will be upgraded to national treasures. The Yeongsan Hoesangdo depicts a scene of Shakyamuni Buddha giving a sermon on a silk background with colors, with Shakyamuni Buddha in the foreground and the rest of the figures getting smaller from the bottom to the top. The Sakyamuni Buddha Triad painting depicts a large number of characters on three canvases with a delicate and fluid touch.


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