The Foundation of the Building Site at Gyeongju Hwangnyongsa Temple Restored

Conditional Approval of Maintenance Plan by Cultural Heritage Repair Technology Committee
Renovation of Outer Plaza at Nammun Site "Simulation and Other Measures to be Implemented"

The foundation platforms of the building sites at Hwangnyongsa Temple Site in Gyeongju will be restored. The plaza outside the South Gate site will also be refurbished. On the 2nd, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that the Cultural Heritage Repair Technology Committee conditionally approved the maintenance plan. The project will be undertaken by Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Gyeongju City. A separate technical guidance advisory group, which is a condition of the approval, will be formed to carry out guidance and advisory procedures within the year.

The building sites where the foundation platforms will be restored include the Middle Gate, South Gate, two corridors, and two buildings on the east and west sides. The Middle Gate, where remains (traces of the building) were confirmed, will be maintained with a furniture-style foundation platform imitating the wooden architecture joinery structure. The two corridors will have single-layered large stone foundation platforms. For the South Gate and the east and west buildings, where remains were not found, the foundation platform locations will be marked with wood. A Cultural Heritage Administration official stated, "This will be carried out based on the excavation survey, verification, and research results by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage," adding, "It is significant as the first cultural heritage restoration project conducted within the Hwangnyongsa Temple Site." They also said, "Once the foundation platforms of the central buildings are restored, it will be easier to understand and appreciate the overall scale of the temple and the arrangement and form of the buildings."

The newly refurbished plaza at the South Gate site will measure 50 meters in width and 500 meters in length. Based on excavation results and academic conference findings from 2015 to 2020, about 1.0 meter of soil will be placed over the upper part of the ruins. The surface will be compacted with sandy soil, and a section of the underground wall remains at the southern end of the plaza will be reconstructed as a wall. For visitor convenience, walking paths will be created around the area and trees will be planted. A Cultural Heritage Administration official explained, "It is presumed that the wall was installed to separate spaces and block the view," adding, "During the reconstruction process, a simulation, which is a condition of the approval, will be conducted, and the results of the 'Hwangnyongsa Rammed Earth Wall Construction Technique Experiment and Design' carried out by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in 2014 will be reflected." They further added, "Once the maintenance is completed, the approach from the side to the front entrance can be restored."