Anyangru and Beomjong-gak, beauty of UNESCO World Heritage Buseoksa Temple, designated as Treasures

연합뉴스 / 2022-08-26 14:02:50

▲This photo, provided by The Cultural Heritage Administration, shows Anyangru (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

▲ This photo, provided by The Cultural Heritage Administration, shows Beomjeong-gak (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

▲This photo, provided by The Cultural Heritage Administration, shows Cheongamjeong (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

SEOUL, August 26 (Yonhap) -- The gatehouse of Buseoksa Temple in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang province will become Treasure of South Korea.

The Korean National Heritage Administration announced on Friday that Anyangru, the gatehouse, Beomjeong-gak, a pavilion located in Buseoksa Temple and Cheongamjeong, a pavilion located in Bonghwa have been designated as Korean Treasures.

Buseoksa Temple is the first temple built by Uisang Master during the Unified Silla Dynasty after coming back from the Tang Dynasty finishing his studies abroad.

Buseoksa temple is well known as the location of Muryangsujeon Hall, a national treasure,

In particular, the view of Muryangsujeon seen from Anyangru is considered the highlight of Korean architecture. Anyangru is a mid-floor gatehouse architecture that represents a temple gate from the 16th century, with three-kan by two-kan (kan: A unit of measurement referring to the distance between two columns).

According to a document written in the 16th century, it is mentioned that the current Anyangru was built in 1576, after Gangungak, a single story building was destroyed by fire.

The Cultural Heritage Administration judged that Anyangru has enough value to be appointed as a Treasure due to features like the tilted building, which changed the flow of the building arrangement inside Buseoksa, entering the Muryangsujeon Hall area, and that the technique used in the middle of the Joseon dynasty, or before, remained in the cross-beam composition.

Beomjong-gak, also known as "Beomjongnu," is a mid-eighteenth-century jonggak (bell pavilion) architecture.

There are records that show there was an iron bell inside Beomjong-gak, but the whereabouts of the bell have not been known since the 19th century.

The Cultural Heritage Administration informed us that in the case of Beomjong-gak, it is worthy as a Treasure as it is unique compared to the usual form of arranging bells on the left and right sides of the temple, and the lavishly decorated "Hwaban," which is used to support the weight in the middle of the roof.

Cheongamjeong Pavilion located in Bonghwa which will also become a Treasure, is a pavilion located in Chungjae's residential area.

Cheongamjeon pavilion is the representation of the residential culture of Sadaebu, aristocratic residences.

The Cultural Heritage Administration appraised, "It was built at the earliest time among pavilions with a T-shaped plan distributed in Gyeongsang province, and the windows and the main structure has outstanding historical, artistic, and academic values as prior to the 17th century."

The Cultural Heritage Administration will collect opinions from various fields during the 30-day notice period and decide whether to designate three cultural assets as treasures after deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Dowon Kim.)

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