Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did the five-story pagoda at Jeongnim Temple influence later Silla pagodas?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Pagoda of Jeongrimsa Temple in Buyeo, South Korea — Korean architecture Five-story stone pagoda of Jeongrimsa Temple, first half of the 7th century, Baekje period; in Buyeo, South Korea. Height 8.33 meters (27.3 feet).

The five-story pagoda at the Jeongnim Temple (often spelled Chŏngnim) in Puyŏ served as a foundational model for the evolution of later Silla pagodas.

While early architects in the Paekche kingdom initially attempted to replicate wooden pagodas in stone, the Jeongnim Temple pagoda represented a shift toward simplification and refinement. Its design features a square base and stories that diminish progressively in size as they rise, capped by thin roof stones with projecting eaves. This specific configuration created a slender, stabilized aesthetic that became a key influence on the development of subsequent Korean architecture, particularly during the Unified Silla period.1

During the Unified Silla era, this Paekche-style stone pagoda was widely adopted, though it underwent further modifications. Silla architects typically reduced the number of stories to three and placed the structures on highly elevated, two-tier bases. By balancing these proportions—such as the 4:3:2 width ratio seen in the 8th-century Shakyamuni pagoda at Pulguk Temple—Silla builders refined the earlier Jeongnim model into the well-balanced, harmonious stone pagodas that characterize the period's artistic legacy.2