Stone Lion in Bunhwangsa Temple Restored



Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage has brought back the original appearance of the stone lion to the northeast of Bunhwangsa Seoktap (the imitation brick pagoda in Bunhawangsa Temple, National Treasure No. 30) by restoring its pedestal and legs at the request of the temple. The stone lion used to stand unstable due to the lost of its front feet. Its restoration was carried out with new stone, modeled on another stone lion on the southeast corner of the pagoda.



Before the restoration the lion was supported by stone pillars from unidentifiable source and the same kind of imitation bricks that were used for the pagoda, and more than half of the pedestal was missing. People thought that the stone lion was hampering the beauty of the temple and needed to be restored especially because of its importance as a state-designated cultural heritage. Now, the stone lion has got back its original, majestic look.



As people are getting more interested in cultural heritage restoration and the temple itself has an increasing number of visitors from home and abroad alike, the restored stone lion is expected to offer more things to see.



The restoration project was conducted by the Conservation Science Division, Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, taking advice from Yi Ohui, Cultural Heritage Committee member, and Choi Myeongyun, professor at Myongji University.