Over a century after it was first plundered, treasured Buddhist stupa returning home

Parts of the Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheon Temple in Wongju, a National Treasure, has been wrapped up carefully at the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center in Daejeon, to be transferred on Tuesday to its hometown ...

Officials at the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center in Daejeon get parts of Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheon Temple in Wonju ready to be transferred back to Wonju in Gangwon on Thursday. [CHA]

Parts of the Stupa of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheon Temple in Wongju, a National Treasure, has all been wrapped up carefully at the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center in Daejeon, to be transferred on Tuesday to its hometown Wonju, Gangwon, for the first time in 112 years after completing about five years of restoration.

The stupa enshrines the relics of the high-ranking Buddhist monk Haerin (984-1070), who became state preceptor during the Goryeo Dynasty. It was initially erected at Beopcheonsa, a Buddhist temple in Wonju, of which only the ruins remain today.

However, the Japanese secretly took it to Osaka in 1912 during their colonization of Korea.

When the stupa returned to Korea, it was placed at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul, but during the Korean War (1950-53), it was severely damaged.

In 2016, it was totally dismantled into 33 pieces and taken to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage’s conservation science center for restoration.

According to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, the stupa had been dismantled more than a dozen times.

Stele of State Preceptor Jigwang at Beopcheon Temple in Wongju [CHA]

There will be a special ceremony to mark the stupa's first return in 112 years on Aug. 10 at Beopcheonsaji Museum, at the site of the former temple.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, the stupa will be stored safely at the Beopcheonsaji Museum located next to the temple site until a final spot to erect the monument has been decided.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]