Korean Cultural Ressurection: Hwangryong Temple Restoration to Proceed

To anyone who has ever visited the historic and historically significant city of Gyeongju just north of my city will notice a certain void in the city’s attractions. Sure there is the centuries old neighborhoods and Temple sites through out the city. There is even some reconstruction of the old palace grounds and a fabulous museum all centred around the mysterious grave mounds so well known to this city. However the city lacks that cultural iconic “umf” that other historic East Asian cities have. This is because Korea is like the Poland of Asia, constantly burned and subjected to other’s rule, as well as historical poverty which has hindered any reconstruction before the economic boom of the 1980s. Because of this Gyeongju is no Kyoto, Xi’an, Beijing, Angkor Wat, Saigon, Osaka, or Kanazawa, and this is indeed a shame given its historic prominence and architectural significance. Luckily the KBS news has just announced that big things are going to go down in this little city that might change all that, a ressurection of the famous Gyeongju architecture is beginning with the formerly giant Hwangryongsa pagoda and a modern mirror of it nearby…

This from KBS Global “The plan to restore the Hwangryongsa Temple in Gyeongju is progressing at full speed.The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage chose to restore Hwangryongsa Temple as part of its program to turn Gyeongju into the nation’s premier cultural and historic city. The NRICH held an international conference on the Hwangryongsa Temple restoration in Gyeongju in April, followed by a public hearing on the basic restoration plan in Seoul on Thursday.

The first academic conference probed the feasibility of the temple restoration beginning with the repair of the nine-story wooden pagoda, while the latest hearing signaled the official launch of the project. Gam Woo-bang, the former director of the Gyeongju National Museum, repeatedly stressed at the hearing that it was impossible to restore the Hwangryongsa Temple, saying the nine-story wooden pagoda could be erected at a site in Gyeongju rather than the current temple site.Former director general of the NRICH, Kim Dong-hyun, supported Gam’s argument. Having headed not only the Hwangryongsa site excavation team, but also the restoration project of Bulguksa Temple 35 years ago, Kim now admitted that he had many regrets about the Bulguksa restoration project.

However, most of the presenters at the hearing were all in support of the restoration, detailing a number of case studies, procedures, and application technologies. A presenter from the Cultural Heritage Administration even proclaimed that it is a “national project.” Professor Kim Hong-shik of Myungji University, the most ardent supporter of the Hwangryongsa Temple restoration project, asked why the nine-story wooden pagoda should be rebuilt to its original height of only 80 meters and not 200 meters. He added that it was time for the city of Gyeongju to become a beautiful cultural icon.Buddhism and Korean history scholar Kim Bok-soon was also against putting up the pagoda at a site other than its original location, claiming that the pagoda only carries meaning when it stands at the initial place.A member of the audience accused the panel for dragging on the historical debates for the last three decades and demanded the complete restoration of the Hwangryongsa Temple. The moderator for the hearing even suggested that a luxury hotel based on the nine-story wooden pagoda be built near the new KTX station in Gyeongju.”