Gyeongcheonsa Ten-story Pagoda: The Tower That Came Home

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul. Stop walking and look up. Way up. This giant white tower in the middle of the museum is the Ten-story Stone Pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple. And this tower has been through more drama than a K-drama.

It was built in 1348, during the Goryeo dynasty. Most Korean pagodas are made of granite, but this one is marble, which is rare. Look closely and you'll see it's covered in carvings: Buddhas, guardians, and scenes from famous Buddhist stories. It's about thirteen and a half meters tall, so it's basically a stone storybook standing upright.

Now the plot twist. In 1907, a Japanese official took the whole pagoda apart and shipped it to Japan. Yes, the entire tower. People in Korea and even foreign journalists protested loudly, and in 1918, it was finally sent back. But it came home in pieces, and it was damaged.

For many years, it stood outside at Gyeongbokgung Palace, where rain and pollution kept hurting the marble. So in the 1990s, experts took it apart again, carefully repaired every piece for about ten years, and rebuilt it here, indoors, where it's safe. That's why it stands in the middle of this long hall today, called the Path to History.

Yul's tip! Go up to the second or third floor and look at the pagoda from above. You can see the carvings on the top levels that nobody notices from the ground. It's one of the best photo spots in the whole museum.