Goryeo-era national treasure returns to original Wonju site after 113 years

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Goryeo-era national treasure returns to original Wonju site after 113 years

Published: 14 Nov. 2024, 17:37 Updated: 14 Nov. 2024, 18:47

YIM SEUNG-HYE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Stupa of State Preceptor, a National Treasure, is unveiled to the public for the first time on Tuesday after it was finally transported back to its original location in Wonju, Gangwon, after 113 years. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

When Korean national treasure, the Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang, was finally transported back to its original location in Wonju, Gangwon, after 113 years on Tuesday, many elderly Koreans expressed their joy, reflecting on the stupa's "unfortunate" history.

"I hope it now has a peaceful life at the temple site where it belongs,” said Gwon Gwi-nam, 89, a resident living in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, who was taking a stroll around her neighborhood Wednesday morning after hearing the news of the stupa's homecoming. "It really had an unfortunate fate. I mean, my life wasn't easy either, losing two sons during the Korean War [1950-53] and suffering from my mean husband, but it wasn't anything like the stupa's.”

What kind of life did the Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang, often dubbed the "tragic stupa,” go through to receive such sympathy from Korea's elderly?

The Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang was erected, presumably in 1085, at a Buddhist temple called Beopcheonsa in Wonju, Gangwon, dedicated to Haerin (984-1070) — a high-ranking Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) monk who served as a royal adviser during the reign of King Munjong.

The stupa enshrines the relics of the monk. However, in 1911, during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45), it was smuggled outside the country and traveled all the way to Osaka, Japan. When the stupa returned to Korea the following year, it was placed at Gyeongbok Palace. Then in 1951, during the Korean War, it was severely damaged. The stupa went through restoration in 1957, but it could not be performed properly, according to experts, due to a lack of materials and expertise. In 1990, it was relocated to the courtyard in front of the National Palace Museum, located next to Gyeongbok Palace. In 2016, the Korea Heritage Service decided to restore the stupa properly and transferred it to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Daejeon.

After five years of restoration, it was finally completed, ready to be back in front of the public. Many insisted that the stupa go back to its original location, in Beopcheonsa, while others argued that it should go back to Gyeongbok Palace, since the temple was demolished in a fire during the Imjin War (1592-98). Today, Beopcheonsaji Museum sits at the site of the former temple.

Lee Tae-jong, right, a researcher at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, who managed the restoration of the stupa over the past decade [LEE TAE-JONG]

After much discussion, it was finally decided in August that the stupa would go back to its original location — inside Beopcheonsaji Museum. Since then, the museum has been busy making sure it has a spot ready to safely place the Goryeo-era masterpiece, which has a height of 5.39 meters (17.7 feet) and a weight of 39.4 tons.

In short, the stupa was dismantled 11 times and traveled a total distance of 1,975 kilometers (1,227 miles) from Wonju to central Seoul — then to Osaka, back to central Seoul and Daejeon — and back again to Wonju.

Lee Tae-jong, a researcher at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, who managed the restoration of the stupa over the past decade, said in a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on the day of stupa’s homecoming that it felt like “I had taken care of my sick and old parents all these years, and I'm finally taking them back to their hometown to rest, as they have gotten better.”

Officials at the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Daejeon get parts of Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang in Wonju ready to be transferred back to Wonju in Gangwon, after completing its restoration in July 2023. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Lee, who majored in stone preservation, previously participated in preservation projects for the Dabotap Pagoda at Bulguksa and the Gamunsa Pagoda in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, before joining the research institute in 2010. Last December, he was called to the scene during the Gyeongbok Palace wall vandalism incident, where he led on-site restoration efforts.

There were arguments that the stupa should be erected in the exact spot that it was originally erected in the Goryeo Dynasty at the temple site. However, Lee said nearly all the experts opposed the idea.

“The stupa is really old, though it has gone through a grand restoration,” he said. “It’s worn and fragile. Many parts have been damaged over time. Cement was used in past repairs, and it has been exposed in an open air for too long, significantly decreasing the durability of the stupa.”

The Beopcheonsaji Museum’s exhibition hall was completed in December 2022 and the government and Buddhist leaders were able to come to the consensus that the stupa be located inside this new hall.

“The exhibition hall’s northern window overlooks the stele of the stupa, which is still erected at its original temple site, about 400 meters away, creating a feeling of reunion between the two national treasures after over 100 years,” said Lee.

The Stupa overlooks the stele of the stupa through the northern window of the exhibition hall, about 400 meters away. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Stele of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheon Temple in Wonju [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

According to Lee, many of the damaged and deteriorated stones were replaced with new ones. The most drastic makeover was done to the roof, as 48 percent of its stones had to be joined with new ones. The sculptures that decorate all four sides of the stupa were meticulously restored by master artisans to make them look like the original. The four lion statues in the four corners, according to the Korea Heritage Service, were restored by craftsman Lee Jae-soon, who is the holder of a traditional skill known as seokjang (stone masonry) — recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

These lion statues were originally positioned at the four corners of the stupa’s lower base, as seen in photos taken in 1911 by Japanese scholar Tadashi Sekino. However, after the stupa’s 1957 restoration, their whereabouts became unknown, and the four lions’ were not part of the stupa for over half a century.

It was researcher Lee Tae-jong who discovered their whereabouts in 2015. While reading research papers, he found out that the lions were stored in the National Museum of Korea’s storage all these years. However, instead of using the original, which had become fragile, Lee Tae-jong asked master artisan Lee Jae-soon to create a replica for the stupa.

A 1911 photograph of the stupa located in Wonju's Beopcheonsa Temple [YONHAP]

In order to erect the stupa indoors, creating a stable base was indispensable.

"A stable platform that can bear the stupa's weight was installed first,” said Lee Tae-jong. "Then the base stones were placed on this platform, and the stupa was stacked layer by layer on top. The base and floor surfaces had to fit perfectly to create a seamless buffer structure, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of the project.”

According to the researcher, the stupa can withstand a magnitude 7 earthquake.

The stupa is carefully reassembled inside the Beocheonsaji Museum in Wonju on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

"When I saw the stupa all dismantled, I was astonished at the intricate details carved even into the hard granite surfaces, including the underside of the roof stones,” he said. “The skill and dedication that went into creating it were truly awe-inspiring."

Lee Tae-jong said the stupa has gone through so many struggles, but it is now all well refreshed to finally rest peacefully in its rightful place to greet the public.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE, KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]