Jungwon Tappyeong-ri Seven-story Stone Pagoda

Hello, if you go a little upstream from the Jungwon Goguryeo Monument Exhibition Hall, where the only Goguryeo monument in Korea is on display, you will come to Tappyeong-ri, Jungangtap-myeon, which has been called the town with many towers since ancient times. There, on the riverbank stands the largest stone pagoda of Unified Silla, a 14.5m seven-story stone pagoda. Chungju in North Chungcheong Province has been an important transportation hub since the Three Kingdoms period.

The official name of the seven-story stone pagoda, designated National Treasure No. 6, is Tapyeong-ri Seven-Story Stone Pagoda, but it also has the nickname "Central Pagoda." During the time of King Wonseong (the 38th king, who reigned from 785-798) of Unified Silla, if two people with the same stride were to set out from the southern and northern ends of the country at the same time on the same day, they would always meet here. Legend has it that the pagoda was built to show that this area was the center of Silla. This pagoda is a symbol of the Jungwon culture in the Chungju area, and the locals are also secretly proud of the fact that this was the center of the country, combining north and south.