"Production Period Must Be Clarified": Elevation of Songgwangsa Gyeongpae to National Treasure Status Put on Hold

Further Research to Be Conducted and Designation to Be Reconsidered

The plan to elevate the Gyeongpae (Wooden Tags) handed down at Songgwangsa Temple in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, to National Treasure status has been put on hold.

Treasure 'Suncheon Songgwangsa Temple Wooden Tags'

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on May 6, the Cultural Heritage Committee recently reviewed the proposal to designate the item as a National Treasure at a meeting. The committee members decided to postpone the decision until the period of production and other details are clarified through further academic research. They recommended that the exact time and place of the Gyeongpae's creation be clearly identified.

The Gyeongpae is a Buddhist craftwork intricately carved from ivory and wood. After recording the name of a sutra on a tag, it was hung on a box containing Buddhist scriptures, serving as a label to indicate which sutra was inside.

According to the National Heritage Portal of the Cultural Heritage Administration, there are forty-three Gyeongpae at Songgwangsa Temple in Suncheon. Ten are made of ivory, and thirty-three are made of wood. Due to their exquisite craftsmanship and technique, as well as their significance for the study of Buddhist scriptures and the history of sculpture and crafts, they were designated as Treasures in 1963.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism applied for the Gyeongpae to be designated as a National Treasure at the end of 2016. Experts determined that further investigation and research were necessary. In fact, the National Heritage Portal only states that, "Based on the carving technique, it is presumed to be a work from the Goryeo period," without specifying the exact period or place of production.

The Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cultural Heritage Committee plan to conduct further research and revisit the discussion on National Treasure designation in the future. For a Treasure to be elevated to National Treasure status, it must be considered highly valuable and rare from the perspective of human culture. As of the end of last year, there were 361 National Treasures and 2,420 Treasures.