Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda Designated as Treasure

"Continuing the Tradition of Mojeon Stone Pagoda Lineage Concentrated in Gyeongbuk While Possessing Rarity"

Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda

The Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Mojeon Stone Pagoda (英陽 縣里 五層模塼石塔·Gyeongbuk Tangible Cultural Property No. 12) will be designated as a Treasure.

On the 28th, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced its plan to designate this cultural asset, presumed to have been constructed from the late Unified Silla to early Goryeo period, as a Treasure. It was judged to continue the tradition of the Mojeon stone pagoda series concentrated in Gyeongbuk while also possessing rarity. Mojeon stone pagodas refer to stone pagodas built by processing stone materials into brick shapes and stacking them. They are mainly distributed in the northern Gyeongbuk areas such as Andong, Uiseong, Yeongyang, and the Gyeongju region. An official stated, “Jeontap (stone pagodas made of stacked stones) are abundant in Andong, while Jeontap-type Mojeon stone pagodas are many in Yeongyang,” and added, “This is believed to be due to cultural and economic factors of the Silla period.” So far, only eight Jeontap-type Mojeon stone pagodas have been discovered, accounting for 1.6% of the total 492 Buddhist pagodas.

Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda

The Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Mojeon Stone Pagoda is largely divided into the pedestal, the body of the pagoda (the part forming each story by stacking the body stones and roof stones in order), and the upper finial. The first-story body was constructed in 12 layers. On the south side, there is a small shrine housing a Buddha statue and others. Granite long stones were used to place the left and right door pillars (pillars erected on both sides of a door to hang the door) and the horizontal lintels (between pillars) to install the door panel (a carved door on the first story body of the stone pagoda). Vine pattern designs were engraved on the surfaces of the left and right door pillars. While shaping the stones into brick-like forms, the corner stones located at the angular positions were rounded to add softness to the pagoda’s form. An official said, “This is a feature not seen in other stone pagodas or Jeontap (brick pagodas built by densely stacking small baked clay bricks).”

Photograph of the Glass Plate of the Five-Story Stone Pagoda in Hyeon-ri, Yeongyang

The body of the pagoda is formed in five stories. From the second story, a sharp reduction in scale is observed. Scale reduction refers to the degree and proportion by which the edges of the roofs (roof parts) of each story decrease as they ascend in a multi-story structure. The slope angle of the Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Mojeon Stone Pagoda (the angle formed when connecting the edges of each story’s roof from bottom to top with an imaginary line) is 81 degrees, similar to the scale reduction ratio of Mojeon stone pagodas in the Gyeongbuk region. An official stated, “In terms of materials used, the five-story Mojeon stone pagoda type, the southern shrine, and the scale reduction ratio, it shows similarities to the Yeongyang Sanhae-ri Five-story Mojeon Stone Pagoda (National Treasure No. 187). It is safe to say that it inherits the same style.”

Yeongyang Hyeon-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda with Mojeon Style

This stone pagoda remained up to part of the fourth story in glass plate photographs from the Japanese colonial period. It was restored to five stories during dismantling and restoration in 1979. After two rounds of repair and maintenance work in 2003 and 2014, it reached its current state. An official said, “It is regrettable that parts of the pedestal and roof stones (the roof-like stone parts placed on top of the body stones) were deformed during the dismantling and repair process,” but added, “Among Mojeon stone pagodas concentrated in the Gyeongbuk region, its original form has been relatively well preserved.”

The Cultural Heritage Administration will collect opinions from various sectors for a month and finalize the designation as a Treasure after review by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.