Five-story Wooden Pagoda of Neungsa Temple

This pagoda is the first reproduction to be made in Korea of a Baekje-style wooden pagoda. It is not merely a copy of the original, but a work of art constructed by the most skilled Korean artisans who participated in the design and construction process.

No nails were used in the construction of the pagoda, so only elaborate woodworking techniques hold it together. The complicated techniques are difficult to master even with the availability of modern technology.

Take a look at the inside of the tower. Can you see the central pillar embellished with a dragon motif, extending right to the top? This is the frame of the wooden pagoda, and under the pillar, the sarira of Buddha was enshrined.

Pagodas in Asia were produced to serve a purpose different to towers in the West. In Medieval Europe, a tower served either as a watchtower to detect enemy activity or a belfry to direct the sound of a bell towards the heavens. In the East, however, Buddhist pagodas were built to enshrine sariras, the crystalline, bead-like objects that remained among the cremated ashes of a Buddha. These kinds of Buddhist pagodas were first found in India, the birthplace of Buddhism. Indian Buddhist pagodas look like large, upside-down bowls, but pagodas in East Asia, including Korea, resemble a tower of stacked cubes. The main material used to build pagodas differs from country to country. For instance, mud bricks are used in China, while wood is used in Japan and stone in Korea.

Initially, the ancient kingdoms of the Korean Peninsula constructed their pagodas out of wood. However, stone eventually became a more popular material as timber was susceptible to fire damage and the construction of a wooden pagoda was a highly complicated process.