First in the County...
Striving to Preserve and Pass Down Its Original Form
Gokseong County in Jeollanam-do (Governor Jo Sangrae) announced on the 11th that the Cultural Heritage Administration has officially designated the Taehansa Jeokin Seonsa Pagoda as a National Treasure.
The "Gokseong Taehansa Jeokin Seonsa Pagoda" is a Buddhist stupa built for Jeokin Seonsa Hyecheol, who founded the Dongnisan sect, one of the nine mountain schools of the Unified Silla period. King Gyeongmun of Silla bestowed the posthumous title "Jeokin" and the pagoda title "Joryuncheongjeong" upon him.
The Jeokin Seonsa Pagoda is a typical octagonal stupa with a separately constructed frame-style base. On the lower stone, lion statues in various forms are carved in relief.
On each side of the pagoda body stone, wooden architectural elements such as columns and lintels are sculpted, and the door panels and Four Heavenly Kings are delicately carved in a planar fashion, expressing both dynamic and restrained sculpting techniques in a single structure.
The overall proportions and aesthetic form are outstanding. The roof stone realistically reproduces the eaves curves and wooden components of traditional Hanok architecture, suggesting that the finest stonemasons of the time were involved in its construction, thus giving it great artistic and technical value.
The inscription on the "Taehansa Jeokin Seonsa Pagoda Stele" clearly records the construction period of Jeokin Seonsa and the pagoda (861). Not only does it serve as a standard for dating stone art, but it is also the only surviving Silla-era stupa with a pagoda hall (tapjeon) facility among those with frame-style bases and four corner stones. Additionally, it is highly valued for its historical and academic significance as a concrete example of religious practices such as worship rituals for the founding patriarch.
Governor Jo Sangrae stated, "We, together with all the residents of Gokseong County, welcome the designation of Taehansa Jeokin Seonsa Pagoda, which holds immense value as a cultural heritage, as our county's first National Treasure," and emphasized, "We will do our utmost to preserve its original form and ensure its transmission to future generations."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
