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The 13-storeyed Octagonal Pagoda of the Pohyon Temple
The 13-storeyed octagonal pagoda stands in the ground of the main shrine of the Pohyon Temple in Mt. Myohyang, Hyangam-ri, Hyangsan County, North Phyongan Province. Built of granite, it is a typical stone pagoda of the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392). The pagoda, 10.03 metres high with its 6.58 m body, is called Sokga Pagoda.
The special feature of the pagoda is its elaborate structural form. It consists of the base, the body and the head. The base is made up of lower and upper parts. The body has the main stone and the top. The pagoda tapers off gradually from the bottom upward. The eaves of the octagonal roof stone and of each storey are slightly turned-up at the tips giving a buoyed look. Bells hung on each tip of the eaves number 104. There is a bronze ornament on the top of the pagoda. The bells and the gilt bronze ornament on top were seriously damaged in the US bombings during the Korean war in the 1950s, but later they were restored to their original state. With its graceful, elaborate and well-balanced carving, the pagoda shows the refined Koryo-style stone architecture.
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