Iksan Mireuksa Temple Site

Hello, Mireuksa Temple in Iksan City, where Buddhist culture in the late Baekje period blossomed, located about 31km south of the Baekma River, which flows around Buyeo, the last royal capital of the ancient kingdom of Baekje, is 260m east to west, 260m north and south. At 640m, it is the largest temple in Baekje and the oldest stone pagoda in Korea.

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The west pagoda of Mireuksa Temple site, which has been dismantled and renovated, and there are four monkey stone statues at the corners of the pagoda.

When you enter the main gate that says Mireuksaji Relics Exhibition Hall, the west pagoda, which has been dismantled and repaired, and the restored east pagoda, stand dignifiedly on a large site. The stone pagoda at Mireuksa Temple in Iksan, built at the end of the Baekje period, has only been partially built on the 6th floor after 1,400 years have passed. The renovation work was completed in March 2019 and opened to the public.

In an extensive excavation survey that began in 1980, it was found that there are two stone pagodas in the east and west and a wooden pagoda is located in the center of the three pagodas, and it is estimated that it is the oldest and largest of the ancient temples in Korea. The stone pagoda of Mireuksa Temple is designated as National Treasure No. 11, and there is a pole of Mireuksa Temple Site, Treasure No. 236.

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You can see the stone pagoda of the Baekje period opposite the Flagpole Supports of Mireuksa Temple Site during the Unified Silla Period.

The Mireuksa Temple Site Relics Exhibition Hall, which opened in 1997, displays valuable Baekje cultural assets excavated from Mireuksa Temple Site, including a 30cm high and 7kg gilt-bronze incense burner, and a gilt-bronze sarira reliquary excavated in January 2009, and a Garam model of Mireuksa Temple in Iksan.

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Mireuksa Temple Site Historic Site Exhibition Hall

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Exhibition Hall Cultural Relics.

Mireuksa Temple in Iksan is also famous for the love story of King Mu and Princess Seonhwa. According to the creation of Mireuksa Temple recorded in the History of the Three Kingdoms, King Mu (600~641), who married Princess Seonhwa, the third daughter of King Jinpyeong of Silla, and became the 30th king of Baekje, saw Mireuksamjon in the pond on her way to meet the nominative judge of Sajasa Temple in Yonghwasan Mountain. In fact, there is a pond left in the vast Mireuksa Temple in Iksan.

Why don’t you go on a Baekje cultural trip that had a great influence on the formation of an ancient country in Japan? Near Mireuksa Temple Site in Iksan, there is also the original Mireuksan Sundubu, which specializes in delicious bibimbap and soft tofu dishes.