Wooden Pagoda of Botap Temple

[Traveler]
You have now arrived at the tall wooden pagoda that has held your attention all the way here. Let’s walk upstairs, and before you take off your shoes, why don’t you walk in a slow circle around the pagoda?

Although it’s only a three-story building, it looks quite tall. The Botap Temple is in fact 42.7 meters tall, the height of an ordinary 14-story building. It can’t have been easy to build such a tall building using timber alone. More remarkably, all that woodwork was erected without using any nails. Instead, the builders used various traditional joinery techniques developed for the construction of traditional Korean homes. The use of such techniques helped prevent the timber from corroding and twisting.

The construction of this pagoda was carried out by master builders who were the leaders in their fields. Accordingly, all the features of the building display the characteristic style of Korean architectural masterpieces. If you look at the areas under the eaves, for instance, you will notice they are lavishly decorated with complex colored patterns. These patterns, known as dancheong, have long been an important element of Korean architecture, and are generally used for the decoration of ceilings and columns of temple and palace buildings. The decoration of the ceiling of this pagoda was completed after a 100-day project carried out by a 72-year-old master artist. It was his last work and, quite naturally, one of the greatest works of its kind.

Well, we’ve now gone full circle around the pagoda. Didn’t you notice something extraordinary around the building? That’s right. The pagoda has many name plaques each hung on each side of each floor. Why did they need so many different names for a single building? You may find the reason inside the pagoda. So, aren’t you curious about what the inside will be like? Let’s go in.

As you walk up, look closely at the top of the stone steps, where you will see elaborately carved lotus blossoms on each of them. The lotus blossom is a symbol of the Buddha’s enlightenment. The lotus carvings on the stairs suggest that you need to prepare yourselves as you step on them to gain enlightenment in the world of Buddha.