Shadowless Pagoda (film)

Shadowless Pagoda is a 1957 South Korean film starring Choi Eun-hee  in the role of Guseul Agi, a free-spirited woman,  and Kwak Geon  in the role of Asadal , the stonemason who created the Dabotap and Seokgatap pagodas of the Bulguksa temple. It was adapted from a 1937 novel by Hyun Jin-geon.

Plot
Guseul Agi (played by Choi Eun-hee) is the daughter of Minister Yujong. She follows King Gyeongdeok when he tours the Bulguksa construction site. Everyone praises the already built Dabotap pagoda. At first sight, Guseul Agi falls in love with Asadal, the stonemason (played by Kwak Geon), whom she proactively pursues. She eventually saves him from burnout. As Guseul Agi takes care of Asadal, their feelings begin to change. In the typical narrative of a melodrama, ‘If a man helps a woman in trouble, it will inevitably develop into love.’ But here, the positions of women and men have been reversed.

The scenario intertwines several storylines, ponctuated by many rides under the moonlight. The political fight between the pro-Tang faction (당학파, 唐學派) and the Hwarangdo faction (국선도파, 國仙道派) results into a slander created by Geum Seong (Tang) who had a crush on Guseul Agi and an arranged marriage with Gyeong-sin (Hwarangdo). Meanwhile, Asanyeo, the Asadal's wife played by Han Eun-jin, runs to Seorabeol having waited three years for her husband. But she cannot enter the temple and has to wait near the Reflecting Pond where the Dabotap shadow is already visible. Because of the misdeeds of Kongkong, the go-between, Asanyeo comes to doubt about Asadal. Not seeing the achievement of the tower, she draw herself into the Shadow Pool and dies without even seeing her husband's face. Guseul Agi, in the meantime, is taken and burned at the stake when her father discovers she escaped 실행(失行) to a commoner. Despite Gyeong-sin's help, she dies.

The final scene is at the pond, where Asadal sees visions of Guseul Agi and Asanyeo. The two illusions finally became one, transformed into the shape of the holy Buddha. As a result, Asadal carves a sculpture of the Buddha 화형(火刑) joining the images of the two women, water and fire, before drowning himself in the Shadow Pond.

Bulguksa Temple
The name Bulguksa means "Temple of the Buddha Land". This main Buddhist Temple in Korea started with a small temple built in 528 under King Beopheung of Silla. The current temple was constructed under King Gyeongdeok starting in 751 and completed in 774. During the Silla Kingdom, today's Gyeongju city was the capital (Seorabeol) of the Kingdom and the Bulguksa site was chosen close to Anapji (14 km), the central palace.

There are two pagodas here, illustrating two parts of the Lotus Sutra. The Seokgatap (muyongtap, the pagoda without shadow) stands at 8.2 meters and is a traditional three-story Korean-style stone pagoda with simple lines and minimal detailing. The Dabotap (yongtap, the pagoda with shadow) stands at 10.4 meters and is known for its highly ornate structure and looks more feminine than the other one.

Situated on the right, the Dabotap is associated with the Many Treasures Buddha (Dabo=Prabhutaratna, the Buddha from the past) and with yang and the objective truth, symbolizing the complexity of the world. Situated on the left, the Seokgatap is associated with Sakyamuni (the Buddha from the present) and with yin and the subjective wisdom to realize the truth, symbolizing the brevity of spiritual ascent.

Shadowless Pagoda (1937 Novel)
'Muyeongtap' is a novel written by Hyun Jin-geon 현진건(玄鎭健), based on the legends he recorded while visiting Gyeongju. The legend is the story of a master stonemason who built the Seokgatap. His wife, who came to visit him, was not allowed to visit her husband due to the construction of the pagoda. The gatekeeper of Bulguksa Temple tells her to watch near the reflecting pond where the shadow of the Dabotap already appeared. The wife looks at the pond for two years, but she cannot find the shadow of the Seogatap, so she stops waiting and throws herself into the pond. After completing the Pagoda, the stonemason searches for his wife in the pond, but fails, so he carves a Buddha statue resembling his wife and then enters the pond.

Based on this legend, Hyun Jin-geon completed a full-length novel. It was published serially in the Dong-A Ilbo starting in July 1938. In this process, two changes were added. One is that the stonemason's place of origin is changed from Tang Dynasty to Buyeo, Baekje. The other completes the stonemason's love story by placing the daughter of a Silla nobleman next to the mason Asadal.

Mun Haksan writes that, considering the dating customs at the time of writing the novel in the late 1930s, Guseul Agi's proactiveness was closely related to the image of a new woman who practiced free love.

Main
The following three characters are put forward in the credits
 * Choi Eun-hee 催銀姬(최은희) as 	Guseul Agi 구슬아기,
 * Gwak Geon	郭楗(곽건)	as 	Asadal 아사달
 * Han Eui-jin 韓銀珍(한은진) as 	Asanyeo 아사녀

People around Juman (Guseul Agi)

 * Song Eok     宋億 (송억  ) as Yujong Ison (Guseul’s father) 이손 유종
 * No Neung-geol 盧能杰(노능걸) as Gyeong-sin	금경신
 * Kim Ok-gyeong 金玉鏡(김옥경) as Teol, Guseul’s duegne
 * Ahn Cho-myeong 安草明 (안초명) as the mother (?)

People around Asanyeo

 * Gang Gye-sik 姜桂殖 (강계식) as Buseok (Asanyeo’s father)	부석
 * Kim Seung-ho 金勝鎬 (김승호) as Paeng gae, valet of Buyeo’s family	팽개
 * Baek Song    白柗	(백송 ) as monk Ppalgaeng-i  승려
 * Park Sun-bong	   (박순봉) as monk	승려
 * No Jae-sin   盧載信(노재신) as Kongkong, 콩콩, the old woman matchmaker

Others

 * Kim Hak    金學 (김학  ) as King Gyeongdeok of Silla 왕
 * Jang Il-ho 張一湖(장일호) as Geum Seong	금성
 * Yang Mi-hee 양美姬(양미희) as Ahok, Geum Seong’s sister (F, 1931) 아옥
 * Jang Hun   張勳 (장훈  ) as Geum Ji (Geum Seong’s father) 금지
 * Lee Gi-hong 李起期(이기홍) as Goduswe (Geum Seong's valet) 고두쇠
 * Park Seung-mun 朴勝文(박승문) as fresh breeze 샛바람