The Sokka Pagoda of the

Pohyonsa Pohyon-sa is a Korean Buddhist temple located in Hyangsan county in North Pyong'an Province, North Korea. It is located within the Myohyang Mountains. Founded under the Koryo dynasty at the start of the 11th century, the temple flourished as ...

Buddhist temple is a 13-storeyed octagonal pagoda located at Mt. Myohyang, Hyangam-ri, Hyangsan County,

North Pyongan Province North Pyongan Province (Phyŏnganbukto; , also spelled North P'yŏngan), is a western province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former P'yŏng'an Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, th ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It is listed as a National Treasure of North Korea.

Details

Built in 1042 CE, the granite structure (also called Sokga Pagoda) was built during the

Koryo Dynasty 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 ...

. It is 10.03 m high with a 6.58 m body. The body of the pagoda tapers off gradually from the bottom upwards. The eaves of the octagonal roof stone and the eaves of each storey are slightly turned-up at the tips giving them a buoyed look; a total 104 bells are hung on each tip of the eaves. A

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

ornament is on top of the pagoda. The various bells and the gilt bronze ornament were seriously damaged by US bombings during the Korean War. They have since been restored to their original state. The pagoda is the male counterpart to the feminine Tabo Pagoda of the Pulguska Temple; it inspired the design of the French Embassy in Seoul by Korean architect

Kim Chung-up Kim Chung-up (; 9 March 192211 May 1988) was a prominent Korean architect and educator. Kim was born in Pyongyang as the second son of his father, Kim Yeong-pil (金永弼) and his mother, Yi Yeong-ja (李英子). He had six siblings; four bro ...

References

{{coord missing, North Korea Korean pagodas Stone pagodas National Treasures of North Korea Pagodas in North Korea Buildings and structures in North Pyongan Province 11th-century establishments in Korea