Unlike typical pagodas that have an odd number of stories ― three, five or seven ― the Gyeongcheon pagoda has 10 stories which represent the 10 Perfections in Mahayana Buddhist teaching.
The pagoda was originally erected during Goryeo Dynasty in 1348 at Gyeongcheon Temple in modern-day Gaeseong City, North Korea. It is a distinctive architectural structure in terms of shape and style. The lower three stories are polygonal like the Chinese ideograph "亞" depicting the influence of Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism. However, the upper seven stories are rectangular like traditional Korean stone pagodas. It was carved out of marble and engraved with a harmonious combination of traditional and exotic architectural motifs. It was a model for the 10-story stone pagoda of Wongak Temple in the Joseon Dynasty more than a century after its construction. This monument is now located in Seoul's Pagoda Park.
The elaborately sculptured Buddhist figures such as images of Buddha, bodhisattvas, the Four Heavenly Kings, arhats, scenes from the Chinese novel "The Journey to the West," floral designs and lions, and dragons who protect the Buddha found on every story of the Gyeongcheon pagoda remind me of the Buddhist Pure Land. These delicate Buddhist motifs were carved in stone as if the medium was wood. How could our ancestors have developed such extraordinary craftsmanship?
The fate of this pagoda was not an easy one. Ignoring the vehement protests by Korean citizens, Tanaka Mitsuaki, the Japanese minister of imperial household affairs, illegally relocated the pagoda to Japan in order to decorate his garden. He visited Korea in 1907 soon after Korea became a protectorate of Japan.
Acutely aware of the great historical value of this treasure, Ernest Bethel (1872-1909), a British journalist, and Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), the American publisher of the Korea Review (a comprehensive monthly journal in English from 1901 to 1906), published articles denouncing the vandalism of Korean cultural heritage. Ultimately, the articles were featured as headline news and editorials in influential media such as the Korea Daily News, the Japan Mail and the New York Post. This scandalous news elicited concern in both Japan and international society.
When Hulbert accompanied Korean delegates to the second Hague Peace Conference in the Netherlands, he held a special press conference to decry the plundering of Korean treasure. As a result, Japan was forced to return the sacred pagoda to Korea due to widespread international criticism in 1918.
The pagoda was subsequently repaired and relocated to Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, where it was on display until 1995. It was refurbished in 2005 and currently stands in the lobby of the National Museum of Korea.
Both Bethel and Hulbert played pioneering roles in Korea's independence from Japanese domination. If it were not for their outstanding efforts to retrieve the pagoda, the precious treasure would have been lost. They displayed more passion for Korea's heritage than Koreans themselves did and both were laid to rest in the Foreigners' Cemetery in Seoul.
Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at choecd@naver.com