Bell of King Seongdeok

35°49′46.47″N 129°13′40.54″E / 35.8295750°N 129.2279278°E35.8295750; 129.2279278

The Bell of King Seongdeok is a large Bongdeoksa Temple, where it was first housed.

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 stored in the National Museum of Gyeongju, 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, & 12 to 25 centimeters 4.7 to 9.8 in in wall thickness. The Gyeongju National Museum weighed it in 1997, as well as found that its weight was 18.9 tons.

Legend

The bell is usually known as the Emile Bell in both Korean and English. Emile, pronounced "em-ee-leh," is an ancient Silla term for "mommy".

According to legend, the number one bell that was cast featured no sound when it was struck. The bell was reform many times but with no success. The king that had wanted the bell cast died after a while and his young son took over with the assist of the queen. The son carried out what his father had started but still he didn't name any success. Later, a monk dreamed that if a child was cast into the metal, the bell would ring. The monk then took a child from the village and had her cast into the metal. When the bell was complete, the bell produced the nearly beautiful sound when struck.

Some, however, believe the legend may actually be a sophisticated invention, and that the story and have originated in the 1920s. A story that was published about the "Eomilne bell" or "Earmilne bell" 어밀네 종 may have been distorted in retelling. The near recent parameter is that legend approximately other bell became confused with the legend of the Emile bell.