Three-story Stone Pagoda in Beomhak-ri, Sancheong

Basic information

Designation

National Treasure No.105

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

통일신라시대 9세기

Designated year

1962

Location

진주시, 경상남도— 경상남도 진주시 남강로 626 (본성동, 진주성) 국립진주박물관 야외전시장

Coordinates

35.189463, 128.076668

Originally a ruined pile of stones located at the site of an old temple named Beomheosa in Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, this stone pagoda was purchased by a Japanese antique dealer in 1941 and rebuilt at a factory yard in Daegu. The pagoda was moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul in 1947 and then to the Jinju National Museum where it stands today. The pagoda exhibits the typical appearance of the Korean three-story stone pagodas with the double-tier base on which a three-story structure is erected. The foundation has lost the original structure due to the cement used to reinforce the structure at the time of rebuilding. Each tier of the base has four corner columns, two (lower tier) and one (upper tier) central columns, all carved in relief. There are the Eight Guardian Deities, two on each of the four sides, carved in relief and, on the first-story body, four bodhisattvas, one on each side. Each of the three roofstones features four-tier cornice, thin and gentle slopes, and delightfully upturned corners. The pagoda is also dubbed “decorative pagoda” largely because the elaborate carvings of Palbujungsang, i.e. the eight guardian deities of Buddhist law around the upper tier of the base and the first-story body. Some experts point out that the rather excessive decorative carvings rid the pagoda of the majestic simple appearance that characterizes the pagodas of its kind, but believe that it is a fine example of the stone pagodas of late Unified Silla.

Location