Iron Flagpole

[Travel]
What do you think this iron pole was used for? Iron poles like this one are easily found in Korean Buddhist temples because they were widely used in the past. What kind of flags did they hoist on poles like this, then? Mostly, they hoisted temple flags to indicate the denomination each temple belonged to or flags bearing an ode to the greatness of Buddha.

This particular flagpole was also used to signal that the nearby area was a sacred place. The custom is closely related with the folk tradition. In Korea, people erected a long piece of bamboo or a wooden pole at the village entrance as its guardian.

These iron poles generally measured 22 meter in height and 30 centimeters in diameter. So, a special device was required to fix such huge poles to the ground. Please look down at the pair of stone blocks that are as tall as a man. They are tightly fastened to each other by iron bands. The original relics were heavily damaged by time and were later replaced by these newly restored supports. I hope that these stone supports and the flagpoles will be safely preserved for future generations.