Key points in the architecture of Korea I.

Pagodas and temples.wooden 
and stone jewels

Dawn and evolution
of Korean architectonic style
from Three Kingdoms to Unified Silla

The architecture of Korea has been influenced more than other arts by historical events of Korean Peninsula. Architecture, the most representative of figurative arts, is like the mirror of human beings: it undergoes all nation’s changes and occurrences. From history dawn to painful

recent past Korean Peninsula’s buildings, temples, streets and cities are the attestation of a peculiar historical landmark’s style. We can discover and understand architecture’s message even many years later.First attestations of Korean architecture date back to Three Kingdoms period (57 BC – 668 AD) and are the Korean kings’ tumuli. The most famous tumulus is Cheonmachong (천마총) nearby Gyeongju (V – VI centuries), a tomb of an unknown sovereign of Silla Kingdom. Korean tumuli show some analogies with contemporary royal tombs of Japan during Kofun period (250 – 538).In Korea religious architecture constituted of temples and pagodas begins to develop mainly at the end of IV century in consequence of introduction of Buddhism to the country. In Korea pagoda - the most typical building of Buddhist architecture which derivates from Indian stupa - has got its rich soil to develop in many original typologies. As for painting, sculpture and pottery, influence of Chinese art in Korean architecture is powerful as well though Korean masters are able to create “Korean style” masterpieces which have influence in Japanese art in turn.The three pagodas of Mireuksa temple (미륵사), together with Jeongnimsa Pagoda (부여 정림사지), are the oldest known in Korea. Mireuksa nearby Iksan City was built in 602 during south-western Baekje Kingdom (18 BC – 66 AD) by King Mu (무왕, 600 – 640) and shows the Korean temples characteristic features yet, like the presence in the courtyard of two or three lined up pagodas. At Mireuksa there were three pagodas as archaeological excavations stated: two stone nine floors pagodas and a wooden nine floors pagoda in the middle. Pagodas were built by artist Abiji as Samguk-Yusa (삼국유사, “Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms”) tells, a book written 

at the end of XIII century by Buddhist monk Il-yeon (일연, 1206 - 1289) about legends and stories of Three Kingdoms period. Samguk-Yusa tells the legend of temple origin too: Maitreya Buddha, the Future Buddha, appeared to King Mu and to the Queen near a pond on Mount Yonghwasan. Mireuksa was exactly built in the place of the dried-up pond.

Only a part of the western stone pagoda still remains and the eastern stone pagoda was rebuilt, anyway these pagodas are perhaps the biggest ever built in Korea. In addition to their historical and artistic preciousness, Mireuksa pagodas are important to observe how stone pagodas were built on the model of wooden pagodas. Stone pagodas show building elements and techniques which look very similar to those of wooden pagodas.Pagoda develop also in the south-eastern Silla Kingdom. In Bunhwangsa (분황사, “Fragrant Emperor Temple”) there is a stone pagoda erected in 634 by Queen Seondeok of Silla (선덕여왕, 善德女王, 632-647), the 30th National Treasure of Korea. Originally pagoda had nine storeys but only three still remain and upper floors fell inside. In this building there are some of the most significant features of Korean pagodas i.e. purity of lines, compactness and harmony of descendant storeys, absence of decorations, use of stone blocks instead of bricks as it is usual in Chinese pagodas of Tang period (618-907) or instead of wood as it is usual in Japanese pagodas. Nevertheless in this period Hwangyongsa temple (황룡사, “Golden/Yellow Dragon Temple” or “Imperial Dragon Temple”) wooden pagoda was built, a very tall building which had nine storeys. The number nine of Korean pagodas’ storeys probably symbolizes the nine

nations destined to submit to Silla Kingdom rule. The pagoda is no more left standing and it is symbolically shaped in the new Gyeongju Tower’ structure completed in 2008. Queen Seondeok also erected in 647 one of the most famous Korean historical buildings, Cheomseongdae (첨성대, “Platform for observing stars”) at Gyeongju, one of the oldest known astronomical observatories in the world. Samguk-Yusa draws a portrait of Queen Seondeok as a very intelligent woman. She was very passionate about astronomy and for this reason Cheomseongdae was built to promote Korean court astronomers’ studies. Seondeok was an astronomer herself and she was able to foresee a solar eclipse and to correct Chinese astronomers’ calculations. Cheomseongdae is a still mysterious building. Its shape is very special: it is a square base tower and cylindrical structure with a square window and a tapered top with square building crowning. Union between square and round shapes is symbolic: in Korean and Far Eastern culture square is the emblem of earth, circle is the emblem of sky and stars. In fact the tower was a kind of “link” between world and sky. The number of Cheomseongdae’s granite stones is very symbolic too: the tower is formed of 362 blocks as lunar calendar days, the basis has 12 stones as year’s months and the building has 27 levels to honour Seondeok, twenty-seventh sovereign of Silla Kingdom. Sunlight does not penetrate tower’s window only on the summer solstice day and for this reason the tower itself was used as a calendar. In Unified Silla period (668 – 935), the whole Korean Peninsula is 

gathered and appeased in the same kingdom and has friendly relations with Tang China. Architecture develops and flourishes together with other arts. Bulguksa (불국사, “Temple of Buddha Land”), perhaps the most famous Korean temple, was erected in 751 during Gyeongdeok sovereign by first minister Kim Daeseong (김대성) to pacify his present life parents’ souls. Temple was completed in 774. Bulguksa suffered damage from wars and invasions and from the original Silla period building only stone blocks basis and temple entrance staircase still remain. Sokgyemun, the entrance staircase, has got 33 stairs like Buddhist enlightenment steps. Two bridges, Cheongungyo (청운교, “Blue cloud bridge) and Baegungyo (백운교, “White cloud bridge”), the 23th National Treasure of Korea, lead to sacred area through Jahamun (자하문, “Mauve Mist Gate”). In the courtyard there are the two famous pagodas Seokgatap (석가탑, “Sakyamuni Pagoda”) and Dabotap (다보탑, “Pagoda of Many Treasures”), the 21st and 22nd National Treasures of Korea. Pagodas are very close each other although very different and according to tradition they were both made by artist Asadal. Seokgatap has three floors and it shows the peculiar features of Korean tradition i. e. absence of ornamentation and shapes’ proportions harmony. Dabotap shows on the other hand a very well-constructed and complex structure with a detailed and original decoration: the basis is square with stairs on sides, there are four bamboo trunk 

shaped pillars which support a three planes structure formed of an octagonal balustrade, of a lotus flower shaped basis and of an octagonal crowning on the top. Only one lion still remains of the four existing on the basis, another one is at British Museum of London. Contrast between Dabotap and Seokgatap is profound and harmonic. The two pagodas are symbols of two different Buddhist entities described in Lotus Sūtra (법화경, 法華經). Seokgatap is dedicated to Sakyamuni - one the historical names of Buddha - and represents by its simplicity the possible way to Nirvana enlightenment which can be accessible to all. Dabotap by its complexity and beauty represents fulfilled Nirvana status. As the story goes artist Asadal was so much inspired in building pagodas that he forgot and repudiated his wife. She went to Bulguksa to meet his husband but in those days temple was off limits for women. For this reason she went nearby to Yeongji “Shadows Pond” to see her husband reflection on the water but she could only see Dabotap and no image of Asadal and she threw herself into the pond believing her husband was died. In reality Asadal was working on Seokgatap which for this reason was not reflected on Shadows Pond’s water surface. For this reason Seokgatap is called also Muyeongtap “No shadow pagoda”.Not far from Bulguksa temple at foot of the sacred Mount Tohamsan there is Seokguram Grotto (석굴암), an hermitage erected by Kim Daeseong to pacify his previous life parents’ souls in 742 c.a. which was originally called Seokbulsa "Stone Buddha Temple". 

The grotto is famous for the 3.50 meters Buddha statue. Buddha is represented while reaching enlightenment as his right hand touching ground shows. Seokguram expresses a peculiar Buddhist architecture symbolism. Passage which leads to Buddha statue is symbol of the earth and of the way to Nirvana. Nirvana itself is represented by the round room in which the Buddha and the other divinities statues stand. Architecture and sculture join together to create an imagery well-known by pilgrims who went to temple. Seokguram has got a special ventilation made on purpose to avoid statues damage caused by humidity. Proportions of whole work are grounded on a very harmonic ratio. Seokguram is the highest stage of Silla engineering development and Korean art of this period foreshadows later ages’ architectonic jewels yet.

Floriano Terrano