Stone Lantern at Gaeseonsa Temple Site, Damyang

The stone lantern once lit the temple compound and it has a symbolic meaning that Buddha sheds light on the world.

This lantern with its buried lower part has recently been restored. It is the only Silla Dynasty stone lantern on which on inscription were carved. The octagonal stone preserving lantern, with a height of 3.5m, has rectangular casements on each side, where 136 Chinese character were carved. The first six lines record that this stone lantern was built under the supervision of King Gyeongmun, his queen and princess (who later became Queen Jinseong) of the Silla Dynasty. The next four lines record that the monks of the temple bought lands to keep it.

The third year of Yonggi (891 AD) written in the inscription is valuable information by which its construction date can be identified. Considering the size of the stone lantern and its carving technique, it can be guessed that there used to be a large temple here.

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