Иксан Мирөкса буддалық ғимараты

Buddhist temple in Iksan, South Korea

Mireuksa (hangul=미륵사) was the largest Buddhist temple in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje. The temple was established in 602 by King Mu and is located 36.012083 N, 127.031028 E, modern Iksan, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The site was excavated in 1980, disclosing many hitherto unknown facts about Baekje architecture. Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda is one of two extant Baekje pagodas. It is also the largest as well as being among the oldest of all Korean pagodas. The legend of the creation of Mireuksa is told in the Samguk yusa. King Mu and his queen were said to have seen a vision of Maitreya at a pond on Yonghwasan. The King promptly had the pond drained to establish the Mireuksa temple complex. The nine storey wooden pagoda that once stood in the center of the complex is said to have been the work of Baekje master craftsman Abiji. Designated South Korean Historic Site No. 150, Mireuksa has been partially restored and now includes a museum. On June 20, 2018 the second restoration of the Mireuksa pagoda was completed.

The complex included a central wooden pagoda flanked by two stone pagodas. A causeway seems to have led to the outer entrance of the walled complex. Mireuksa temple had a unique arrangement of three pagodas erected in a straight line going from east to west, each with a hall to its north. Each pagoda and hall appear to have been surrounded by covered corridors, giving the appearance of three separate temples of a style known as "one Hall one Pagoda." The pagoda at the center was found to have been made of wood, while the other two were made of stone. The sites of a large main hall and a middle gate were unearthed to the north and south of the wooden pagoda.

Also surviving at Mireuksa are flagpole supports of the temple site (Mireuksaji Danggan Jiju). These two massive stones are set 90 centimeters apart. During special celebrations, a flagpole would sit and be supported by the two stone pillars. There were three holes for flags per pillar. The first pair of holes were square while the other two pairs were round. The base of the flagpoles has not survived. The undecorated nature of the pole, save for horizontal stripes carved on the exterior of the two poles, suggests that the poles were created during Later Silla.

In 1910, only a part of the west pagoda (South Korean National Treasure No. 11) was still standing. In 1914, the Japanese government supported it with a concrete backing. In the late 20th century, Korean archaeologists conducted extensive excavations, laying the foundation for a partial reconstruction and the interpretive center. The west stone pagoda's concrete support has been removed beginning in 1999, and the entire structure was dismantled. The complete restoration was completed in June 2018.

Among the many finds at the temple complex have been stone lanterns and the foundation stones for the columns and terraces on which the temple structure stood. Private houses were simple structures with wooden floors. One record indicates that these houses were reached by ladders. Archaeologists excavating the Mireuksa and Imgangsa temple sites have exhumed tall foundation stones on which wooden floors would have rested. It would appear that this feature was adapted from private houses. The raised floor and heating system later became a characteristic structure of the Korean house.