Sejong Jeonui-myeon 'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon' Designated as National Treasure Notice

A view of 'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon' located in Jeonui-myeon, Sejong. Provided by Sejong City

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] It appears that the first nationally designated treasure in Sejong in terms of architecture will emerge.

Sejong City announced on the 24th that the ‘Jeonui Biamsa Geungnakbojeon’ has been upgraded from a city-designated tangible cultural property (No. 1) to a nationally designated treasure (pre-announcement).

Geungnakbojeon is expected to be officially designated as a nationally designated cultural property treasure after a 30-day pre-announcement period for collecting opinions and review by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

The city emphasizes the significance of this treasure designation as the first national treasure in terms of architecture since the establishment of Sejong City. Additionally, it is expected to save a budget of 1.7 billion KRW necessary for cultural heritage management.

Biamsa Geungnakbojeon, located in Dabang-ri, Jeonui-myeon, Sejong, is a hipped-and-gabled roof building applying the Dapo style, where the roof eaves-supporting members are placed between columns.

In particular, to complement the frame structure, three chulryang beams perpendicular to the main beam are spread on both sides and connected to the outer gidoris, which are side roof frames suspended in the air, creating a unique impression.

Also, the city explains that the bracket system uses a middle bracket between the small and large brackets, which is distinctive from the typical Dapo-style bracket structure.

The city estimates the construction period of Biamsa Geungnakbojeon to be the 17th century, based on the fact that the small clay Amitabha Buddha statue (City Tangible Cultural Property No. 13) and the Yeongsanhoe Gwaebul painting (City Tangible Cultural Property No. 12) inside were created in the 17th century.

Above all, judging from the architectural style of Geungnakbojeon, it reflects well the era when temple economy was reduced, and it offers insight into the architectural style centered around the Chungnam region in the 17th century, thus receiving a very high evaluation for its historical and academic value.

Previously, artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period, such as the Gye-yu-myeong Jeonssi Amitabul Biseang and the Gi-chuk-myeong Amitabul Biseang, were excavated at Biamsa.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, “Biamsa Geungnakbojeon is the only remaining Joseon Dynasty temple in the region and holds important significance for understanding temple cultural heritage,” adding, “The city will do its best to cooperate with the Cultural Heritage Administration for the preservation and management of Biamsa Geungnakbojeon and the revitalization of cultural tourism.”

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