Jeongnimsa Temple Five-Tier Pagoda

SOUTH KOREA, South Chungcheong, Buyeo

The pagoda is located at Jeongimsa Temple in Buyeo. It is one of the finest examples of a stone pagoda from the late Baekje dynasty (18 BCE–663 CE), along with the Stone Pagoda at Mireuksa (Maitreya Temple). An inscription was found on the first level of the pagoda stating that General Su Tingfang from the Tang dynasty (618–907) destroyed Baekje in alliance with the Silla Kingdom. The inscription appears to have been carved after the pagoda was erected and, since the inscription is dated 660, it is believed that the pagoda and the temple were constructed before that year. The pagoda was listed as National Treasure No. 9 in 1962.
The five-tier pagoda, following the style of a wooden pagoda, is 8.3 m high and sculpted from granite. Compared with the Stone Pagoda at Mireuksa Temple, it is smaller in scale, being about half the size of the Mireuksa pagoda. The base consists of four layers. The third layer has central and corner pillars on all four sides. The first tier of the pagoda body is much higher than subsequent tiers. The flat, thin eaves have upturned corners and are supported by bracket sets resembling those of wooden pagodas. The spire is simple without any stacked rings. This is a typical stone pagoda built during the transition period when Baekje dynasty stone pagodas were styled after wooden pagodas.