Bell of King Seongdeok
| Bell of King Seongdeok | |
|---|---|
The bell (2006) | |
| Designation | |
| Official name | Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok |
| Designated | 1962-12-20 |
| Reference no. | 29 |
| 35°49′46.47″N 129°13′40.54″E / 35.8295750°N 129.2279278°E | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 성덕대왕신종 |
| Hanja | 聖德大王神鍾 |
| Revised Romanization | Seongdeok Daewang Sinjong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏngdŏk Taewang Sinjong |
| Other name | |
| Hangul | 에밀레종 |
| Hanja | 에밀레鍾 |
| Revised Romanization | Emille Jong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Emille Chong |
The Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok (Korean: 성덕대왕신종; Hanja: 聖德大王神鍾) is the largest extant bronze bell in Korea. It is also known as the Emille Bell (에밀레종), after a legend about its casting, and as the Bell of Bongdeoksa, where it was first housed. The bell was also previously housed at Gyeongjueupseong.
The bell was commissioned by King Gyeongdeok to honor his father, King Seongdeok. However, King Gyeongdeok never lived to see the casting of the bell, as he died in 765 A.D. The bell was finally cast in 771 A.D., during the reign of Gyeongdeok's son, King Hyegong.
Now housed in the Gyeongju National Museum, the bell was designated as the 29th national treasure of Korea on December 12, 1962. It measures 3.75 meters (12.3 ft) high, 2.27 meters (7.4 ft) in diameter at the lip, and 12 to 25 centimeters (4.7 to 9.8 in) in wall thickness. The Gyeongju National Museum weighed it in 1997, and found that its weight was 18.9 tons.