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영어

The Stone Lantern in Balsan-ri (Treasure No. 234.) is the only stone lantern with the inscription of a dragon and clouds design of its kind in Korea. As it was originally discovered at the Bongrimsa Temple Site in Samgi-ri of Gosan-myeon, Wanju-gun, it ought to be called the ‘Stone Lantern of the Bongrimsa Temple Site.’ At this temple site, a stone platform of a stone lantern was also discovered. However, no further research has been conducted on the stone platform or on the relationship between the two relics. To initiate this research, the author raised the possibility that the Stone Lantern in Balsan-ri was separated from the stone platform, which is now in the collection of Jeonbuk University Museum. Several clues support this idea: First, both the stone lantern and the platform were found at the Bongrimsa Temple Site; second, the archaeological research conducted in December 2015 has raised the possibility that they once formed part of the same structure; and, third, the similarity in style between the two items and the Stone Buddha Triad at the Bongrimsa Temple Site makes it easy to believe that they are all closely related in some way. All these clues suggest that it is highly possible that the stone platform was the lower part of the stone lantern. Working on the assumption that these are indeed the constituent parts of one complete stone lantern, the author has renamed it the ‘Stone Lantern of the Bongrimsa Temple Site.’ As well as the efforts to restore it, equally comprehensive research on the Stone Lantern of the Bongrimsa Temple Site will be needed to determine the historicity and value of the reassembled stone lantern.