Amazing Architecture Easing Austerity Worries... 'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon' to Become a Treasure

Economic Decline of Temples Due to 17th Century Wars... Reduced Construction Scale
Completed as a Paljak-style House with a Side Main Room and a Porch

'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon (碑巖寺 極樂寶殿·Sejong City Tangible Cultural Property No. 1)', the only Joseon Dynasty Buddhist temple in Sejong City, will be designated as a treasure. The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 24th that it will collect opinions from various sectors for a month and finalize the designation after deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

Located in Dabang-ri, Jeonui-myeon, 'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon' is a hipped-and-gabled roof building with three bays at the front and two bays on the side. Typically, Joseon Buddhist halls have three bays on the side. The one-bay reduction is presumed to be due to the impacts of the Imjin War and the Manchu invasions. The temple faced economic difficulties, resulting in a reduced scale. The hall also has a narrow worship space. The method of securing space by setting back the columns surrounding the inner aisle and erecting a rear Buddha wall, which is usually applied to buildings with three bays at the front and three bays on the side, was applied here as is.

Despite the unusual combination, the building was completed as a hipped-and-gabled house (a house with eaves on all four corners) because a main beam crosses horizontally between the front columns of the central bay and the internal main columns, and three supplementary beams (chungnyang) were installed on each side bay. The supplementary beams are perpendicular to the main beam, with one end resting on the main beam and the other on the outer column. Usually, only one supplementary beam is installed in buildings. The side main bay of 'Biamsa Geungnakbojeon' is relatively long. The supplementary beams were installed to support the load on the eaves.

The bracket sets (gongpo) fitted on top of the columns to support the weight at the eaves ends are composed of three outward projections both inside and outside. In the mid-Joseon period, the internal projections tended to extend further than the external ones. This was especially true for hipped-and-gabled houses with two bays on the side. However, this building has the internal and external projections constructed equally. The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, "This form can be seen in Daewoongjeon Hall of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang and Daewoongjeon Hall of Jikjisa Temple in Gimcheon."

The cheomcha, decorative components stacked layer by layer between the top of the columns and the roof, come in large, medium, and small sizes, all of which were used. The arrangement of the cheomcha and the shape of the salmi (rafter tail) on the interior and exterior clearly exhibit characteristics of mid-Joseon dapo (a style with multiple bracket sets) architecture. The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "Although no precise records of the building's construction period were found, it well preserves the era characteristics and regional features of mid-17th century provincial temple Buddhist halls."

Biamsa Temple, which houses this building, is a historically significant temple. It is said to have been founded by Doseon Guksa during the Unified Silla period. It became widely known after the excavation of artifacts such as the Geyumyeong Jeonssi Amitabha Buddha Stele (癸酉銘全氏阿彌陀佛碑像·National Treasure No. 106), a relic from the Three Kingdoms period.

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