Heungdeoksa temple site ( ko, 청주 흥덕사지), is the site of the historic Heungdeoksa Temple, a Buddhist temple which existed during the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

and

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

periods, in

Heungdeok-gu Heungdeok-gu is a non-autonomous district in the City of Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Heungdeok-gu was re-established from a part of Heungdeok-gu and a part of Cheongwon-gun in July 2014. The newly created Seowon-gu annexe ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The temple is believed to have been constructed prior to 848 and was destroyed by fire in the late 1370s. The exact location of Heungdeoksa temple remained unknown until 1985, when a number of relics were discovered as part of a land development project in the area by the Korean Land Development Corporation. The

Cheongju University Cheongju University is a private university located in Cheongju City, the capital of North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Academics Undergraduate studies at the university are divided among eight colleges: Economics & Business Administration ...

oversaw the archaeological excavation and confirmed it was the location of the Heungdeoksa temple, after discovering a bronze gong and bowl, with the temple's inscription on them. The site was designated as a historic site (No. 315) on May 7, 1986. A reproduction of a Buddhist prayer hall and a three-story stone pagoda have been constructed on the site based on the excavation survey. The temple was where the '' Buljojikjisimcheyojoel'', the world’s oldest extant book printed with movable metal type, was printed. The book was compiled by the Buddhist monk, Baegun, in 1374, and was printed using movable metal type at the temple in the third year of King Uwang’s reign (1377). This book precedes the publication of the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed b ...

(published in 1455) by 78 years. The book was acquired by

Victor Collin de Plancy Victor Émile Marie Joseph Collin de Plancy (1853–1924) was a French diplomat, bibliophile and art collector. He was a career French diplomat who served most of his working life in Korea and whose private collection of Far Eastern art and antiq ...

, the chargé d'affaires with the French Embassy in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in 1887 during the reign of King Gojong and subsequently donated to the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

, where it currently remains. In 1972, the ''Buljojikjisimcheyojoel'' was officially recognised as the world’s oldest printed book and in 2001 it was registered in the UNESCO Memory of the World. On March 17, 1992 the Cheongju Early Printing Museum was opened adjacent to the heritage site, to promote Korea's historic printing culture.

External links

Heungdeoksa Temple Site, Cultural Heritage Administration

Discovery of Heungdeoksa Temple

References

{{coord, 36, 38, 38, N, 127, 28, 19, E, type:landmark_region:KR, display=title Archaeological sites in South Korea Buddhist temples in South Korea Demolished buildings and structures in South Korea Historic Sites of South Korea Korean pagodas Buddhist archaeological sites in Korea Former Buddhist temples Tourist attractions in North Chungcheong Province World Heritage Sites in South Korea Pagodas in South Korea