Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda

[Anchor Lead]

The Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda, the largest stone pagoda in Korea, has re-opened to the public after an 18-year-long restoration. The historic landmark is drawing scores of tourists who come to see the priceless cultural heritage from the ancient Baekje Kingdom.

[Pkg]

The Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda is Korea's National Treasure No. 11. It's also the tallest and oldest stone pagoda remaining in the nation. In 1998, a safety inspection of the pagoda was conducted. And now, the historic landmark has finally opened to the public after 18 years of restoration. Many tourists visited the pagoda on the first day to see the magnificent structure from the ancient Baekje Kingdom.

[Soundbite] Kim Ju-dong(Seoul Resident) : "My family was stunned to see how well it has been restored. I hope that more cultural properties will be preserved so that we can hand them down to our future generations."

The public were relieved to see that the pagoda no longer showed signs of the concrete that had been applied to it by Japanese colonialists of the past

[Soundbite] Kim Su-bin(Iksan Resident) : "When I saw it 19 years ago, it was covered in cement and looked nothing like a historic artifact. But now it looks like a well-preserved structure."

Additional restoration work will be conducted on the pagoda's temple.

[Soundbite] Bae Seok-hee(Iksan City Government) : "We will restore the Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda in phases based on the results of a joint study conducted with the Cultural Heritage Administration so that it can become one of Korea's top cultural and tourist attractions."

Prior to the opening of the Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda to the public, the Board of Audit and Inspection pointed out that the stones inside the pagoda appear to have been placed in a random manner. The Cultural Heritage Administration responded by saying that the design of the pagoda had been modified in line with an expert opinion in order to preserve the historic value of the property. The administration has promised to conduct a thorough safety inspection.