Seven-story Stone Pagoda at Cheongnyangsa Temple Site, Gongju

A pagoda is a symbolic monument enshrining the relics or remains of the Buddha. Although not all pagodas contain the true remains, they are nonetheless worshiped as sacred places that enshrine the Buddha.

This seven-story stone pagoda is one of the two pagodas that survived at the former site of Cheongnyangsa Temple in Gongju. Reminiscent of a pagoda of the Unified Silla period (668-935), it also exhibits some of the aspects from the Baekje period (18 BCE-660 CE). In comparison, the five-story pagoda next to it is a pure embodiment of the classic Baekje style.

The seven-story pagoda, together with the five-story pagoda that stands next to it, are sometimes together referred to as “the brother and sister pagodas.” This comes from a legend stating that when Silla was nearing its demise, the Tang-Chinese Buddhist monk Shangyuan saved an injured tiger. The tiger later returned to the monk carrying a woman and left her at his feet. The monk looked after the unfortunate woman and opened her eyes to Buddhist teachings. Then, they took the oath to be brother and sister to each other and sought the enlightenment of Buddha. It is said that when they died, these pagodas were built to enshrine their remains.

These pagodas are mentioned in a 1693 travelogue by the civil official O Jae-jeong (1641-1709), but are described as having seven and nine stories. He states the seven-story pagoda represents the monk, and the nine-story pagoda represents the woman.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08